There"s no doubting a guaranteed audience for Gordon Downie"s solo debut among those startlingly loyal Tragically Hip fans. There was also no doubt, based on the singer"s kaleidoscopic lyrics and feral performance style, that any Downie solo work would be an enormous departure from the meat-and-potatoes rock of his day-job band. Yet Coke Machine Glow comes by its weirdness honestly, building on the singer"s hunched-shoulder observations with spare, mostly acoustic layers of piano, pump organ, strings, Telecaster, and just about anything else at hand. And the record moves, alternately pitching us junkyard country, a shambling tuba-goosed Mardi Gras-style corker, and fragile folk and pop ballads, all tethered to Downie"s literate song-poems, on one occasion delivered spoken word, possibly from the bottom of a well. Hip fans will note the ubiquitous homegrown references but may be surprised by the gauzy sentimentality of "Trick Rider," which finds one-time Eric"s Trip member Julie Doiron shadowing Downie"s hushed lead vocal. Coke Machine Glow won"t bewitch the high-fiving throng for which "Courage" or "New Orleans Is Sinking" stand as beacons to Canadian-rock glory. But it"s fascinating to follow Downie as he wanders down these various paths, always pausing to glance around and take notes for future use. --Kim Hughes