He's not only prolific, but also hard-to-pin down stylistically. This and his frequent early use of samples prompted comparisons to Beck, but while equally idiosyncratic, the two hail from different emotional universes. Beck is the inscrutable, charismatic loner looking to chill, while Fite's a nervy, nerdy guy with a strange gait and discomfiting questions about humanity ? like They Might Be Giants with Tom Waits' restless, woozy mannerisms.

In his strangely affecting, minimalist rock paean "We Are All Teenagers," Fite sketches out a spare electric riff with a reverb-y '50s rock air as he nails the adolescent unease that lingers into adulthood: "We all feel a little bit uncool." But as Fite circles the sources of our awkward self-consciousness, he comes back around to lauding youthful spirit as the song swells with added drums, organ and a choir of voices. Along the way, he latches onto the essence of innocence and hopeful possibility: "So let's live while we can / because we may never be teenagers again."

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