NORMALLY MELANCHOLIC Lynn Miles has a new upbeat CD Love Sweet Love.

Lynn Miles is known for her melancholy songs about loss, betrayal, heartbreak and the like. She even won a Juno for 2003's Unravel, a whole album of them. But the unironic title of Miles' brand-new fifth album, Love Sweet Love, reveals a different side to the Ottawa singer/songwriter -- sweet, thankful, hopeful, even content. Not on all the songs, of course, but on enough to signify a new outlook.

"In the past I've written about cynical and melancholy forms of love, and I just wanted to add a little light," Miles explains. "I think people are having a hard time in the world these days, and I wanted to contribute a little more light than usual -- both for myself and for the people who buy my records."

Indeed, there's a thread of cheerfulness that snakes its way through the album. "Show me a thunderstorm and I'll show you the sun," she sings on This Is The Night, while the title track advises the lovelorn to have courage.

"That Love Sweet Love song really came out of 9/11," says Miles. "I was so overwhelmed by the stories of people who knew they were going to die and got on their cellphones and called the people they loved.

"At that moment everything becomes very clear. All the minutiae of daily life doesn't matter. All that matters is that there's someone who loves you -- not just romantically but your family or whatever. I wanted to focus on different kinds of love. And I couldn't really write about 9/11 when it happened, it was too overwhelming. I think it takes a while to digest something like that."

As on her previous albums, Miles made Love Sweet Love with producer/guitarist Ian LeFeuvre and drummer Peter von Althen, Ottawa players known for their characteristically tasteful and gorgeous work on Jim Bryson's songs as well as in their own band, Starling.

"Ian and I have a great relationship in the studio," says Miles. "We don't argue, we just go in and sort of chip away at it. We hardly even have to rehearse for shows -- Ian and Peter just know exactly what I need, and they're great players.

"Ian Tamblyn suggested that Ian and I get together 12 or 13 years ago," she continues. "And the first time we sat down, it was interesting. I was surprised, 'cause we came from completely different worlds. He was playing rock; he was pretty young and had never really played with an acoustic guitar player before. But it just instantly worked. And I liked it because it took me out of the folkie scene. I've never considered myself a folk singer. I think I write pop songs, I just happen to play the acoustic guitar."

Lynn Miles unveils Love Sweet Love at Hugh's Room tomorrow.

GET YOUR TEENAGE KICKS: Tonight, legendary Irish punk band The Undertones -- reunited after 20 years but with singer Paul McLoone subbing for Feargal Sharkey -- play the Horseshoe, while Fall Out Boy is at the Phoenix and the Wedding Present are at Lee's Palace.