Hurry Home Dark Cloud: Duncan Sheik

If you judged Duncan Sheik's debut by the cover shot, you'd probably think he was some sort of ex-New Kid on the Block who raided his hair gel stock and sheepishly posed for his major label solo outing.

That would be a shame, and were it for for lead-off single "Barely Breathing" engaging pop radio in a stranglehold for much of 1996, it's likely the album cover alone would've repelled potential impulse buyers.

"Barely Breathing" struck a chord with audiences in the same vein as the typically upbeat guitar pop of the late nineties did with hit singles like Eagle-Eye Cherry's "Save Tonight" and "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Interestingly, Sheik's self-titled debut was constructed of more organic, baroque pop rather than radio-friendly hits.

"She Runs Away" kicks off the album classically and provides a more suitable blueprint for the remainder of the record than "Barely Breathing" suggests. The beautifully morose offerings "In the Absence of Sun" and "Out of Order" lead into one of the albums' more trite yet tranquil tracks: "Home".

The following two records, Humming and Phantom Moon, were more experimental and attracted little mainstream attention. With fourth album Daylight, however, Sheik strode back to his pop roots and fashioned a record every bit the equal to his debut.

"Genius" will ring a familar tone with those who have endured a luckless relationship, "On Her Mind" treads the same ground as James Blunt's "Beautiful" without causing involuntary cringing, and "Good Morning!" is perhaps one of the more clever lyrics Sheik has penned.

His last record, White Limousine, carried both a single that sounded as if it was a lost cut from his debut sessions and an extra dvd disc that allowed listeners, with a simple download of an Acid-like program, to completely deconstruct the record and remix any song in any way the user wishes. It was a brilliant concept that I wish more artists would follow.

With Sheik's burgeoning creative branches into broadway composing, it's unclear when (if ever) we can expect a sixth album. If his previous releases are any indication, it's a safe bet that whenever Mr. Sheik steps back into the studio we will be first in line to hear it.