Ever hear a song for the first time and feel your cheeks burn, sensing that the artist must have written the lyrics about you? That he tapped into your brain somehow and cemented what he found into a mellifluous, stingingly personal ballad?

Well, if you listen to Ryan Adams' new album, Demolition, you can expect this to occur.

Although critics contend that this new album is no match for Adams' acclaimed Gold, his new effort offers a diversity of sound and tone most anyone could enjoy.

One outstanding track is "You Will Always Be the Same." Adams' soul is packed into the lyrics that circulate through this acoustic story-telling song. You can nearly envision the dirt caked on a little girl's simple, white shoes, her long, tangled hair flying as she twirls through the slightly over-grown grass of her backyard in a rural American town. You understand the sadness of lost youth in his words, and you believe that he is not merely the storyteller but also a character in the plots that he weaves.

"Can we cut to the scene where I'm holding you close?" These words filter into "Cry On Demand," an accusatory song in which Adams draws a parallel between a shattered relationship and the falsities of film.

"Dear Chicago" should not go unmentioned. Any human being who has ever missed home or seen the cold, tragic beauty of loneliness will appreciate this song's tough, dry retelling of these circumstances, accompanied by acoustic guitar and closed with the rich sounds of the fiddle. Adams' matter-of-fact, smooth voice cuts through listeners' thoughts and leaves them somberly contemplating life's complexities.

Demolition is the fruit of a collection of demos Adams' made between tour dates last year. The 13 tracks are the product of the condensation of five albums worth of material the artist recorded in five sessions -- in other words "la crème de la crème." And to me, it comes as no surprise.

-Reviewed by Camille Lamb