Lachey brings the pain in 'What's Left of Me'

Are you reeling from a painful breakup? Going through a divorce? Unwilling to let go of an erstwhile lover?

If so, then Nick Lachey's new solo album, "What's Left of Me," could prove cathartic; If not, it might leave you a bit depressed.

Lachey's much-publicized split from Jessica Simpson has released an avalanche of media speculation, rife with rumors of infidelity and other marital woes. Recently, Lachey revealed that Simpson had dumped him, but he still loves her and would marry her again. advertisement

The disc - a somber, soulful, angsty collection of 12 ballads - is a slickly produced, raw-nerved confessional of his heartbreak and an open letter to Simpson.

In "Shades of Blue," one of the album's best tracks, Lachey pines for a lost love, foolishly awaiting her return. He asks, "Why did you have to leave? Why did you have to set me free? Why did you have to go?" But he takes an angrier tone in "I Do it For You," expressing his wish to see her "bleed and see how it feels."

Nice work, Jess. This guy's a wreck.

Realizing that he must move on ("I don't want to waste another day stuck in the shadow of my mistakes"), the title track has Lachey telling a potential lover to make him "whole once again."

His brooding songs, sung in a clear tenor, span different stages of grief, sometimes within the same track - there's resentment, regret and acceptance in "I Can't Hate You Anymore" - until he reaches his "Resolution," pledging his commitment to let go. Finally.

Set to a pop soundtrack, his pain becomes palpable, raw, universal. His pain becomes ours.

But do we really want to feel it?