Mark Mulcahy - In Pursuit of Your Happiness (2005)

Mark Mulcahy's old band Miracle Legion, were once feted as peers of the emerging REM, but ended up in a welter of litigation. Mulcahy has been left with a streak of delicious misanthropy which he exploits to the full: his third solo album opens wounds and plays with the patterns as the blood runs free.

In Cookie Jar, he's vengefully addressing an acquaintance whose "house is only made of cards". The terrific I Have Patience sees the author dining alone again and drips killer lines like: "The things I have loved don't bring me joy/The things I want, I want to destroy." However, Mulcahy is more complex than a sociophobe and is not beyond lines of hope: "I wish I was naive again."

Aided by J Mascis and Pixies' Joey Santiago, the music tours the emotional spectrum from stark keyboard-vocal ballads to bittersweet Velvet Underground chugs. It's all sculpted around an eerie, Reed-like voice much loved by Thom Yorke and will appeal to anyone in awe of self-loathing with good tunes.