Two of Me, the newest full-length effort from Long Island singer-songwriter Michael Korb, begins promisingly enough. After a long pause, yawning guitar chords come in, stretching out. But after Korb comes in with his near-falsetto singing, the track loses direction. It seems to work best as dramatic ambience, but only at certain moments.

That shakiness sets the tone for Two of Me. Korb's melodies verge on ineffectual cooing sometimes, and while the music lying underneath is pretty and well-composed, it just doesn't compel as it should. An unexpected, almost jazzy break in "Malfunctioning" is a nice touch, though. But there's often just a weird dissonance to things, like when he goes for retro pop on "Long Way Down" and ends up with a relatively emotionless, In Reverie-style floater. "What Do I Know?" offers timid, Auto-Tuned electro-pop.

There's a certain beauty Michael Korb seems to go for on this. Maybe even a duality, according to the title and cover art. But neither feel accomplished in natural form, his effort here feeling too lilting to achieve either.

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Two of Me
What Do I Know?