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First of all, @%&! Smilers is the literal, uncensored title of Aimee Mann’s seventh solo album. Mann would like you to insert your favorite adjectival expletive to modify the word “smilers.” Presumably the exclamation mark is part of the concealed expletive: Damn Smilers makes more sense than Damn! Smilers, although Fucking Smilers makes more sense than either of them.

Leave it to Mann, then, to turn a smile upside-down: she’s the master of bittersweet cynicism, of disillusioned idealism, of frustrated romanticism. On Smilers, she’s often concerned with economics: “You’ve got a lot of money but you can’t afford the freeway,” she sings of an addict struggling to stay clean. “I ain’t looking for nothing, to spend the money I make,” she sighs, depicting someone who has given up on her dreams. Smilers focuses on character songs (unlike on 2005’s The Forgotten Arm there’s no unifying narrative), and it eschews electric guitars in favor of acoustic strumming and analog keyboards. At times, the Moogs, Wurlitzers and Clavinets sound dated rather than retro, but Mann’s tender alto is a comfort even when she’s softly cursing the world.

Standout Tracks: “Thirty One Today,” “Phoenix”   STEVE KLINGE