Eddie Vedder

Ukele Songs Universal****

When the news leaked out, a lot of people thought they were reading a headline from the Onion. Surely, the angsty lead singer of Pearl Jam couldn't put out a whole album using just his voice and the Hawaiian four-string?

Ukulele Songsis just that. The second big surprise is that it's a musical triumph – a cheeky, audacious move from an unpredictable talent. This mix of originals and covers could be the surprise dinner-party hit of the year. After all, the ukulele, after years in the musical margins, is now achingly "on trend".

He opens with a cover of Pearl Jam's own Can't Keep, which works here as a short, sharp, shock introduction. What's striking here – as in so many of the 16 songs – is how Vedder's familiar vocal takes on a new, richer dimension when put against the most simple of musical arrangements. With all the songs under three minutes and many below two, there's a judicious use of timing here (and, let's face it, nobody wants ukulele noodling).

The biggest surprise, given the limited instrumentation, is just how different he can make the songs sound. The stand-out track, Broken Heart, which features one of his most evocative vocal deliveries, is world's apart from a song such as Light Today.

There's a new-found sweetness to his approach. He sings More Than You Knowand Goodbyewith the sort of caress we've never heard before. It's a tribute to how quickly you get used to the sound that when a cello insinuates its way into Longing to Belong(the first single), you feel as if the sound has suddenly got all cluttered-up.

At the tail-end of the album is a cover of The Everly Brothers' Sleepless Nights(on which he is joined by Glen Hansard), before Cat Power crops up on Tonight You Belong To Meand beautifully judged Dream a Little Dreambrings the magical mystery tour to an end. Buy it. See pearljam.com/users/ eddievedder

Download tracks: Can't Keep, Broken Heart, More Than You Know