Ask Lynn Miles about how her life and career are going and expect to hear one of three scenarios: The good, the bad and the bittersweet.

Ugly juxtapositions, but nothing new for the Sweetsburg, Que.-born singer-songwriter.

"It's a scary thing," Miles says from her Ottawa abode as she fends off a nagging cold. "I like pretty intimate songs and I feel like I'm putting a lot of myself out there. Sometimes there's a fear of your intentions being misunderstood."

For instance, take Miles' just-released fifth album Unravel, which she'll plug at the National Arts Centre's Fourth Stage tomorrow and Saturday night at 8. (A Saturday matinee for 3:30 p.m. has also been added.) A year before, the middle-ager told a Rasputin's audience she had planned to entitle her new record Black Flowers.

"I liked them both, even though I don't usually like to name a record after song titles," says Miles, whose past catalogue includes 1991's Chalk This One Up To The Moon, '96's Slightly Haunted and '99's Night In A Strange Town. "But somebody told me Black Flowers was too funereal. Sometimes I listen to people, even though I shouldn't."

As Miles sees it, Unravel best captures the overall sentiment of the disc's 11 tracks.

"To me, the album is really about everything falling apart, yet finding the strength after it all happens and being able to continue on and be stronger."

Part of Unravel's charm lies in Miles' sharp-sighted lyrics as well as its mix of country, folk, pop and rock styles. The other part lies in Miles' longtime friend Ian LeFeuvre (the Starling singer-guitarist helped out on Miles' Slightly Haunted) whose stark production, vocals and guitar wizardry help perfectly capture the disc's raw emotion.

"He knows my personality really well," says Miles. "His thing was he always wanted to hear on tape what he knew I was like: The good, the bad and the bittersweetness of my personality."

JUST JIM DANDY: Ottawa singer-songwriter Jim Bryson's slow and steady progress as a solo artist is finally beginning to reap some benefits.

"It's been baby steps, but they're progressive baby steps," says Bryson, who headlines a Babylon show tomorrow night (with Kingston's Luther Wright and the Wrongs opening).

His year-old indie debut The Occasionals is now available nationally through Square Dog Records. While Bryson's been racking up points for his stellar showcases at Canadian Music Week and North By Northeast festivalss, he's certainly scored a huge coup opening for acclaimed singer-songwriter Dar Williams on her upcoming U.K. tour at the end of November.

"It's funny," he says modestly. "Everyone says that I'm a songwriter, yet I don't feel like one. I just put some words together and go from there. If it works, it works."

ACOUSTIC D-LIGHT: Most know Tony D as Ottawa's premier electric bluesman. But judging from his annual spots hosting the Ottawa Bluesfest's acoustic stage, Mr. D has a knack for fiery acoustic blues, as fully evident on his latest effort The Size of Your Shoes, which he'll plug at the Black Sheep Inn on Sunday afternoon. Included on the CD are the flamenco stylings he shares with his teacher, James Cohen, but the beret-wearing bluesman says, "By the end of the day, it's all blues to me."