Man, do I wish Chris Lee had pulled this off. If suddenly white indie rock boys could get away with saying stuff like, "I am sexual everything," no one would be happier than me. But I didn't buy it from the Faint, and even though Lee takes on soul, a more traditionally sexy genre than new wave, it's still not quite working. The problem here may be that Lee's version of soul sounds more like Elliott Smith than it does Al Green. If that line delivered by a morbid folkie strikes you as silly, don't even contemplate the one about "buns of steel and fingers wet."

Chris Lee is far more successful when exploring other lyrical territory. It's easier to focus on his likable southern-accented vocals and simple arrangements when the absurdity of the cat-holding, dress shirt-clad guy on the cover singing about making love isn't getting in the way.

Lee's voice does have some soul. He never misses the high notes throughout the album, he turns "yeah" into a five-syllable word, and at his best, he evokes a young Stevie Wonder. In fact, more instrumentation might improve this record a great deal. Most songs feature guitar, bass and minimal drums, but on a few tracks, Lee opts to accompany himself solely on acoustic guitar. And while a more proficient songwriter could probably pull this off, Lee's fairly generic songs about girls and relationships could benefit from fuller orchestration, which might draw attention away from the sometimes goofy lyrics.

Unfortunately, Chris Lee hasn't yet legitimized the image of indie boys as soulful, sensual men. In fact, the response this album is probably most likely to elicit from your significant other is, "Uh, I didn't know you liked Ben Harper."

-Meg Zamula