Blond Jesus “I Hear You” (LP)

You have to admire an artist who calls himself Blond Jesus and then opens his latest album by admitting he is trying to hear himself think. That tension—between the fellow who enters the room wearing a halo and the one quietly wondering whether he belongs there—is what makes I Hear You more interesting than its playful packaging initially suggests.

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Blond Jesus, the performing alter ego of Garrett Miller, is based in Hollywood, which feels right. These songs are bright, theatrical and not remotely embarrassed by a big chorus. Miller and his principal collaborator, Brian Pothier, appear to have little use for indie-rock cool. They would rather tell you exactly what happened, how it felt and, in the case of “Drunk 30,” approximately how many beers were involved.

That song is the album’s shameless hoot. Bad dates keep finding Miller, his standards deteriorate under neon lights, and every macho man in tight jeans begins looking like destiny. By the time he is covered in glitter and dispensing bad advice, resistance is pointless. The After Hours remix stretches the joke even further, counting through beer, nachos, flirting, a missing phone and somebody grabbing his butt. It is ridiculous. It also sounds like something people might actually shout along with at closing time.

The jokes land because Miller is willing to be their target. “I’d Like to Be in Love With You” begins with the nervous optimism of a promising date and ends with him appalled by the man’s chewing. “Karma Buddy” is even less delicate, turning a friendship into a horny “bromance” full of lines that would make a greeting-card writer faint. Tasteful? Not especially. Funny? Often, yes.

Still, I Hear You is not simply a camp exercise. The title song catches Miller in a much quieter place, walking away from the crowd and trying to distinguish instinct from all the opinions pressing in on him. Its plainspoken quality works. He is not pretending to have solved himself; he is just finally listening.

“Closer to You,” written with Pothier and John Sarono, is similarly sincere. Inspired by a relationship that begins with a three-hour drive, it moves from coffee and long walks to a wedding aisle without throwing any ironic elbows. “Mistletoe Glow” goes even softer: cider, candles, snow, favorite records and the relief of building a home with someone. Cynics may squirm. Let them.

The record makes a couple of unexpected detours. “Hope Is All I Have” follows a woman from Indonesia to Hollywood as she fights to tell her story, while “Jamshid’s Golden Gift,” co-written with Farid Saffarian, celebrates the legendary Persian king with silk, wine, history and a dance beat. “Lost Treasure” takes aim at empty promises, though its targets remain frustratingly vague.

Not every turn on I Hear You fits comfortably beside the next. The album can feel like three different records sharing a dressing room. But its messiness also feels truthful. People can be romantic, furious, horny, hopeful and drunk within the same week. Blond Jesus simply refuses to edit out the contradictions. That may not make for a perfectly streamlined debut. It does, however, make for one with an actual pulse.

Mark Druery