As lead singer and now main songwriter of punk band Bad Religion, Greg Graffin usually hasn’t worn his heart on his sleeve. Rather, he’s preferred to aim his pen at external topics — politics, evolution, the environment.

But with tumult in his personal life, including a recent divorce, Graffin has turned inward in an effort to make some sense of it all. Billing his solo project American Lesion — the “concept relates to today’s climate in our business-dominated society,” he writes in the liner notes — Graffin vents some of the emotions he usually doesn’t exercise with his band.

Unlike Bad Religion’s thrashing punk, American Lesion is stripped-down pop, using mostly acoustic instrumentation. While Graffin apparently has never played a note on Bad Religion albums, he turns out to be a fine musician who’s capable of pumping out a catchy R&B piano groove or unleashing a fuzzy guitar solo (he does both on “Maybe She Will”). And the opening track, “Opinion”, wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tom Petty or Steve Earle album.

Graffin has always been a pungent lyricist, which is reflected in American Lesion’s frequently intimate lyrics. On “In the Mirror”, he castigates himself for his shortcomings, while “Maybe She Will” takes a wistful “what-if” glance at a failed relationship. Also carrying over from Graffin’s Bad Religion work is his undeniable gift for melody; nearly every song has memorable lines or a catchy chorus.

Bad Religion fans will especially enjoy the version of “Cease” included here. The song, which also closes the The Gray Race, gives a peek into Graffin’s creative process. In contrast to the band’s blazing rendition, Graffin slows the tune down to its original tempo, which only heightens the effectiveness of the lyrics.

While Bad Religion is still going full tilt (with a new album coming out this spring), American Lesion bodes well for any non-punk leanings that Graffin might want to pursue in the future.