Singer Sheik Reins in Emotions to Reveal a Subtly Warm Style

Duncan Sheik’s voice is more smolder than fire. It burns quietly with the restrained passion of an injured romantic, not through tears, but in hopeful confrontation with the unsolvable problems of love and spirituality.

At the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Monday, Sheik turned this lovelorn weariness into dreamy pop nuggets, finding on stage a subtle emotionalism that’s sometimes lost in his studio work. Free from the lush orchestration of his new “Humming” album, the songs were spare and sometimes chilling, the guitars more aggressive, the percussion a touch sharper.

Still, Sheik’s voice never soared beyond the comfort zone of somber restraint that characterizes his work. That purring, yearning blend helped his 1996 debut album, “Duncan Sheik,” sell more than 500,000 copies, largely on the strength of his “Barely Breathing” hit single. On Monday, the New Jersey singer-songwriter critiqued the very culture of rock stardom via “Nothing Special,” yet he embraced it too, piecing together a world view of pop philosophy during “That Says It All,” which quoted the lyrics and notions of Dylan, Hendrix, Lennon and Jagger.

Sheik wisely kept his songs short and direct, and performed only one epic (“Varying Degrees of Con-Artistry”). His songwriting still falls somewhere short of the transcendence he seeks, but it was performed with enough richness and warmth to keep it diverting and meaningful.