The buzz on Aimee Mann’s fifth solo record is that it heads out in a fresh direction. It’s about a couple that meet at a state fair in the 1970s, she has told reporters; it’s influenced by her newfound interest in boxing, she has also said. But put it on and you’ll hear how much it’s of a piece with her past. “Baby, baby, why do I feel so bad?” she sings on “Video.” The answer’s easy: Because you’re making an Aimee Mann CD. The Forgotten Arm is full of heartbreaking songs fixated on hard-luck tales. Lost in Space, from 2002, was full of references to addiction, and so is this : “Clean Up for Christmas” spells it out pretty clearly. A talented songwriter, she’s gotten her share of credit for bucking the major-label system and striking out with her own label, but if she doesn’t follow commercial formulas, she’s following creative ones, and selling herself short in the process.

Download: “King of the Jailhouse”