Standards is taut, at times brash, reinforcing a long-held aesthetic that straddles "the campus library and the New York Dolls".
Cole was last in New Zealand in 2011, when he toured with the Small Ensemble, comprising multi-instrumentalists Matt Cullen and Mark Schwaber.
This time, he is performing solo on an eight-date New Zealand tour, a double bill with Los Angeles-based Kiwi singer-songwriter Greg Johnson.
"The economic reality is it's almost impossible for me to bring a rock band to New Zealand," Cole said.
"I expect I'll play three or four songs off Standards. I'm not going to try to create the same type of energy as on the record; I'll just pick the songs that might work best in an acoustic format and, hopefully, encourage people who haven't heard the record to listen to it.
"Even when you go on tour with a band, it can be quite difficult to get the same sound as on a record, so I don't worry about that sort of thing any more."
The 53-year-old, who first came to prominence in 1984 with the release of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' Rattlesnakes, has long mixed instinctive off-the-cuff melodies with well-edited crafted lyricism. And it seems he's not about to change.
"I don't try to avoid that scenario. It's always there when I write music. I love the New York Dolls and T-Rex; I love krautrock but, at the same time, the way I write lyrics is different to David Bowie or Marc Bolan or David Johansen.
"To be honest, that mixing of things is basically why I have a career. That aesthetic is my schtick.
"I have worried about lyrics over the years but I am naturally flamboyant with language. Left to my own devices, that's what tends to come out."
Songs such as Lost Weekend, Perfect Skin, Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?, Jennifer She Said and Like Lovers Do have helped Cole's albums reach the UK Top 20 five times, and other tracks, including the hedonistic My Bag and introspective Mr Malcontent, have secured him a reputation as a lyricist able to adopt a range of personas.
"All I did on this record was not worry about whether the music was age-appropriate or concise enough and I just wrote with fewer filters than normal," Cole explains.
"To be honest, I'm really pleased with it. For better or worse, I'm the only person who could have made this album. That doesn't mean it's any good, but at least it has an aesthetic that might appeal to those who are familiar with my work.
As with 2011's Broken Record, Cole adopted an increasingly popular method of financial support for his latest effort, asking 600 fans to pre-purchase the album to enable recording to begin.
"That allowed a week of studio time. There was no mucking around. We'd get up, have breakfast and head to the studio, record two or three songs, have dinner, go home and do it all again the next day."
Cole has adopted a do-it-yourself ethos since removing himself from the "major label rat-race" in 1997 when he asked to be released from his contract with Polygram.
He has since rebuilt his career to the point where, following a decade in the United States as a "folk singer" performing mainly solo concerts, he now heads a thriving cottage industry that involves reissuing older albums, maintaining a website, marketing, writing and recording songs.
"The hub of the whole thing is my attic," Cole explains, adding the space is roughly divided into organisational and artistic zones. "Without that type of activity, it would be very difficult to carry on." Though he has extended his passion for writing beyond lyricism, penning a range of journalistic articles from travel to popular culture, Cole says the money's no good. Hence, he'll stick largely with music as a source of income.
"I have done a little bit of writing but, to be honest, it doesn't pay very well. It would be difficult for me to maintain the standard of living I have now. Not that music pays particularly well, but I am still primarily a musician.
"This year I am touring a lot. Next year, I'll probably not tour at all and spend a fair bit of time making another record. But I don't expect to be a full-time musician in five or six years. I expect to be doing less."
Such plans would allow more time for another passion: golf.
Cole, who plays off a single-figure handicap, has previously expressed a desire to compete on a state level in senior amateur golf. The requirement is he must be 55. Thus, he has to wait a couple of years.
Then again, his form might need to improve, too.
"You should have seen me play today. I'm eligible for the scrapheap, really."
- Otago Daily Times
