Though Random Desire is billed as his first solo album (excluding 2005’s rarities collection Amber Headlights), Greg Dulli has more than proven his songwriting chops for over 30 years with his two main projects The Afghan Whigs and The Twilight Singers. The term “solo" is often thrown around for any artist who wants to make a statement, but he makes sure to earn that distinction: Dulli recorded every part of the album, from the piano lines to the drum and bass riffs, combining all those elements over his anguished lyrical wit. “Carry me back, now I am your sin/Singing the song as I touch your skin,” he yearns on "Marry Me”, conveying brooding sentiments with his soulful tenor. Dulli aims high on “Sempre” and “The Tide”, blending surging guitars and dramatic piano parts that build into explosive finishes. “When does it end?/Does the feeling come again?” he sings on “Slow Pan”, letting his guard down with a harp-led ballad which closes the album on a bittersweet note.