Strange but true: Actor Terrence Howard has a genuine singing voice, mixing John Legend’s graininess with a Cat Stevens quaver. And he didn’t make the album anyone would expect. Shine Through It is neither a hip-hop follow-up to the Oscar-winning Hustle & Flow track “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” nor some R&B-formula exercise with last month’s top five producers and songwriters. It’s much more idiosyncratic, filled with songs that Howard—who also plays guitar—wrote, arranged and coproduced. The music harks back to orchestral ’60s pop, complete with choruses cooing la la la. In wildly uneven songs, Howard reminisces about puppy love and offers gushy advice; better, he plunges into adult lovers’ quarrels and reflections on success. Often goofy but occasionally telling, it’s a heartfelt album that sounds unlike anything else released this year.

Download “No. 1 Fan,” “Plenty”