When keyboard master and ex-Cure/Thompson Twins/Psychedelic Furs man Roger O’Donnell offered to write a theme to Stereogum (named “(Theme To) Stereogum“), we expected there would be lots of synths and not really any lyrics. Because how do you write lyrics about a music blog? It is like trying to capture rays of WiFi in a bottle. (Huh?) But Roger stepped up by feeding vocalist Erin Lang some abstract couplets (“I lifted the lid on a silver box / I know it’s not mine but I couldn’t stop”), and also by making us into an adjective (“You’re so stereogum”). By that logic, his just released solo album is also so stereogum: it’s called Songs From The Silver Box, it’s all about silver boxes with this guy. The single “Tiny Pieces Of You” is a meditative little heartbreaker, Mr. O’Donnell once again enlisting Erin on hushed vocals, mining a maximum of emotion from a minimum of keyboards. The video plays out the themes with some animated and weeping long-distance love birds, which also were created by Roger’s hand.

Take it:

• Roger O’Donnell – “Tiny Pieces Of You”Download

Pretty tune. And for old times’ sake:

• Roger O’Donnell – “(Theme To) Stereogum”Download

Songs From The Silver Box is out now via World’s Fair.