One cannot fully consider any "Paul Westerberg" work without some thought of “The Replacements” coming to mind. The curse of the pop star gone solo, I fear Mr. Westerberg will forever exist alongside his former band’s influence. And rightfully so. Since "Paul Westerberg" was one of the main songwriting forces of the band, his solo work continually reflects elements that were present in roughly 1981 when a bunch of Minneapolis kids got signed and started an underground punk/pop revolution smack in the middle of the 80’s Metal and British New Wave domination. Since their demise in 1989-1990, when the band disintegrated into the essentially solo album of “All Shook Down,” "Paul Westerberg" has continued to be a songwriter, spitting out solo albums every couple of years. The last offering to get a large amount of attention was his debut solo release "14 Songs" and his "Singles" soundtrack "Dyslexic Heart" which saw some decent airplay and MTV rotation.

Paul is back with “Suicaine Gratifaction,” and proves once again his art with creating the soulful pop tune. The instrument of choice on this release is the acoustic guitar accompanied by Westerberg’s pleasant and clever musings with a few numbers centered around a piano. All songs here are written by Westerberg, but he is accompanied by an array of musicians adding sparse additional elements. The mood is often sullen and retrospective, creating melancholy rainy day music. Westerberg is a songsmith and most of the songs are just that - simple little numbers consisting of one primary idea or progression with a couple changes (which is the proven formula for a pop song). Still present (as in all Westerberg related work) is the coyness he delivers with such clever insecure lines like “It’s a wonderful lie/ I still get by/ On those” (broken by an extremely subtle violin texture) and “Wearing too much make up/ And not enough clothes,” from the opening track “It’s A Wonderful Lie.” Content to just portray scenes of Westerberg’s observances and experiences, he sounds like he’s writing for himself rather than an attempt to find the hit single.

Westerberg does branch out with different (but traditional) instrumentation. “Self-Defense” is a softer piano number that, although emotional, trickles along somewhat like a "Ben Folds Five" song minus the hook factor, and “Tears Rolling Up Our Sleeves” utilizes a flirty keyboard sound that sounds almost like the “Wallflowers.” Westerberg’s vocalization sometimes reminds me of Ray Davies of the Kinks or Mick Jagger (the older, bluesier Stones) on tracks like “Best Thing That Never Happened,” with it’s two chord, mid-tempo, classic sounding progression.

The songs tend to be a bit shallow in design, with sparks of genius that do filter through, but one has to listen hard. One can’t help but miss the irresistible hook that Westerberg is entirely capable of. “Lookin’ Out Forever,” which has some pace and the quickly repeated chorus of the title, along with the hard strum and distorted leads, is one of the easier and pleasantly rocking numbers (Paul rarely rocks anymore), and looks back to the vibe which drew a lot of fans to Westerberg’s work.

Most songs fall into the forgettable too easily, and especially the slow piano numbers. “Sunrise Always Listens” is a dreamy, slow, piano number that comes off a little too much like a "Barry Manilow" number (except for the extremely subdued distorted guitar track), and “Fugitive Kind” almost gets lost the same way, when it starts out very melancholy with Westerberg singing softly on top of a sparse piano - but then falls into a lazy, happier bounce of acoustic guitar backed by a clean electric guitar strum, which works itself into a nice snappy tempo with an interesting blend of acoustic strum and runs of a dirty/clean electric guitar that play in and out of the rhythm.

One gets the feeling "Paul Westerberg" now makes records that Paul Westerberg would listen to. It’s talented, but self-indulgent, and limited in scope (despite the piano explorations). Listeners who get solace from solitude, love the unsung songwriter, or just like mellow, slightly catchy acoustic pop, should have no trouble finding some rewarding numbers on “Suicaine Gratifaction”. Old school "Replacements" fans looking for Paul to carry the torch of adolescent angst that once drew them to the band will surely be disappointed, since there are absolutely no rockers on this disk. There are glimpses of that irresistible hook woven here and there, but you have to look. In an age where it takes a bit more than an acoustic guitar and a few musings to please the public (unless your name is Jewel or Elliot Smith), is the effort worth it?