Ben Lee: man enough to be a woman, too.

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MUSIC: Ben Lee gets in touch with his feminine side

Extolling the virtues of peace, love and optimism in the midst of global economic collapse, ongoing war, and, most recently, the possibility that a rogue flu strain is going to kill us all, must be a thankless task. But Ben Lee evidently relishes the chance to smile in the face of adversity, and to urge everyone within the sound of his voice to do likewise.

The 30-year-old Australian-born singer-songwriter has more or less made this his mission for over half his life, since co-founding the rather misleadingly named Noise Addict at age 13. Championed by Sonic Youth and Beastie Boys, the precocious high-school quartet was lauded for Lee’s preternaturally smart way with a pop hook, as evidenced by the post-grunge-era anthem “I Wish I Was Him,” a tongue-in-cheek tribute to wayward Lemonheads heartthrob Evan Dando. Lee broke away for a solo career in 1997, and the ensuing years have brought forth half a dozen albums that are united in their determination to ignore the morbidity of the modern world and gently suggest that all you need is love.

An incurable romantic and idealist, Lee’s heart-on-sleeve lyrics and sunshine-in-a-bucket melodies have won him an increasing number of fans (2005’s “Catch My Disease” was his first North American hit) but also a fair many detractors, who complain that his charmed life — including a long relationship with Claire Danes; he’s now married to another actress, Ione Skye, which prompted a move to L.A. — is to blame for a worldview that is daffily naïve at best, excruciatingly twee at worst.

His critics, however, only seem to have emboldened his resolve. Lee’s newest album, The Rebirth of Venus, is loosely a tribute to the female species and femininity, which he states in a press release represents “qualities that we all, men and women, need to cultivate.”

Self-explanatory songs such as “I Love Pop Music,” “Boy with a Barbie” and “I’m a Woman Too” invite easy scorn, which Lee says is partly the point.

“I grew up believing, and still believe, that art should take you out of your comfort zone — even pop music,” he says to WE. “It should subtly challenge your ways of thinking and feeling. The ideas on this album were as much about challenging myself to be a more three-dimensional human being as it was directed toward my audience. I always write about the things that are going on inside me. I guess I’ve become accustomed to that feeling of vulnerability. It’s still scary though.”

So, in a culture dominated by the machismo of hip-hop and rock ’n’ roll’s decades-old bad-boy poses, is his call for womanly benevolence the true sound of rebellion?

“Sometimes I feel that way,” he says. “Undeniably, people like Morrissey and Kurt Cobain, who brought strong feminine sides into pop music, were challenging and changing the status quo. But I don’t think that the ‘feminine’ is necessarily gentle. A waterfall isn’t gentle. Neither is a tornado. Nature is very powerful. I’m looking for power like that more than the power of a brawl at the local pub.”

Ben Lee performs Tuesday, May 5, at Richard’s on Richards (1036 Richards), 8 p.m. Tickets $20 from Ticketmaster, Zulu, and Red Cat.