Jesse Malin brings a softer urban style to Club Cafe

By NATHAN ELLSWORTH

Jesse Malin Club Cafe Thursday, 7 p.m. Tickets $12-$14 (412) 431-4950… Jesse Malin Club Cafe Thursday, 7 p.m. Tickets $12-$14 (412) 431-4950

Singer/songwriter Jesse Malin will perform at the Club Cafe tomorrow night to promote his newly released third album, Glitter in the Gutter, out on Adeline Records. The album is the follow-up to 2004’s The Heat.

Malin, a born-and-bred New York City talent, recorded Glitter in the Gutter far outside of his comfort zone in North Hollywood. This comes through in the music, giving his gritty urban anthems a veneer of slick and stylized pop-rock.

Malin’s talent is well evidenced by the quality of his collaborators. Ryan Adams plays guitar on several tracks on the new album, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age brings his trademark guitar work to “Tomorrow Tonight,” and none other than The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, lends his voice to the haunting ballad “Broken Radio.”

Despite the big supporting names, Malin still takes center stage on the album. Most of the record consists of upbeat rockers about optimism and seizing the day, but Malin also makes room for darker, brooding numbers like “Broken Radio” and “Aftermath.”

Glitter in the Gutter already led Malin to an appearance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and widespread critical acclaim. The New York Post went so far as to call him “the successor to Lou Reed’s crown as the lord of The City’s underground.”

Tickets for the show are $12 in advance and $14 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m.