His two albums have earned widespread critical acclaim and an ever-expanding audience drawn to quiet, contemplative music.

Yet Jose Gonzalez is nothing if not modest about his status.

"I'm sure a lot of people aren't really interested in hearing my own songs," he says matter of factly. "But as long as some are, I'm happy."

The comment refers to a talent for adapting a variety of cover songs to suit Gonzalez low-key acoustic means. Songs that have to date included such unlikely singer-songwriter material as Kylie Minogue's Hand on Your Heart, Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy and Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart.

(Okay, maybe that last one is not such a stretch.)

A cover of a tune by fellow Swedes The Knife remains Gonzalez's best-known recording, thanks in large part to exposure gained through a Sony television commercial.

Such quirky covers have been, Gonzalez admits, "A reason for people to check up on my music." Yet he neglects to add those who have checked In Our Nature have found much to enjoy beyond the lone cover (of Massive Attack's dreamy Teardrop), powerful original compositions that decry the state of a world gone wrong, even as Gonzalez's melodies fair lull us into feeling that at least all is right in the world of music.

These are siren songs masking words of warning. Gonzalez brings us to warzones -- emotional and political. When he does speak of love, it is to call out those who would kill in its name. And as for religious persuasion, the Swedish singer born of Argentine parents mightily smites those who would, "Cook up some myths/Then ask for obedience."

"I grew up in a non-religious family in what has been called the most non-religious country in the world," Gonzalez notes. "And I do feel that to base one's ethics on a supernatural being seems wrong. I feel people aren't really growing up. And it's time they did. You can have all that religion offers, without having to believe in scriptures that are 2,000 years old."

Not exactly the sort of sentiment we might have heard from Kylie Minogue. Though Gonzalez defends his unusual choices for songs to cover, on the basis that each bears a strong lyric. And, to Gonzalez, a song is only as strong as its lyrics.

Which, of course, explains the artist's bare-bones arrangements. And his fondness for playing solo shows such as tomorrow's concert at Zaphod Beeblebrox.

"You definitely have more room for the lyrics when you play without a band," he says. "I try to write songs with a sense of urgency. And that can come across better solo."

That urgency, Gonzalez nonetheless claims, is tempered by a desire to create songs that will endure.

"I am inspired by current events," he explains, "but I try to write in a general way so they are not tied to any specific time."

He will admit songs such as Abram, a denouncement of organized religion, are "specific to our times." But even at his most finger-pointing, Gonzalez is otherwise able to craft something beyond today's headlines. And, he insists, beyond any agenda.

"Using music as a tool to get a message out is something I don't necessarily agree with," he opines, "but I realize I'm contradicting that. I'm saying I don't agree with it, but it is what I'm doing.

"It's a dilemma, because I do believe that the fact that you can play guitar and sing doesn't make your point of view better than anyone else's. In the end, I look at it as art. Art doesn't have to be factual, it stands outside that."

It is also open to interpretation, something with which Gonzelez is certainly familiar.