Album: Jeff Bridges, Jeff Bridges (Blue Note)

Following Jeff Bridges' Oscar-winning depiction of a country singer in Crazy Heart, it was inevitable the actor would make his own album; thankfully, he was able to retain T-Bone Burnett's house band to assist him, lending a sleek authenticity to his grizzled, whiskery performances.

Jaunty opener "What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do" finds Bridges sounding like an older, battle-weary Everly Brother who's lost a few octaves, but elsewhere the tone is firmly on the melancholy and careworn, in laments like the heartbreaking "Nothing Yet" (opening line: "I don't trust the past much any more") and Bridges' own "Falling Short", where mellotron and Marc Ribot's guitar cushion his defeat. It's all tastefully arranged and Bridges' becalmed "Slow Boat" is a case of small mercies we should all be lucky enough to boast: "All I know is I still float/Slow boat".

DOWNLOAD THIS: What A Little Bit Of Love Can Do; Nothing Yet; Slow Boat