There’s stubborn. And then there’s Kaz stubborn. The singer-songwriter of Redlight King refused to take no for an answer when music business suits denied his request to sample a Neil Young classic, pressing relentlessly until he got a "yes." More importantly, Kaz held on to vanquish the inner demons that nearly wrecked him several years ago. Now, with "Something for the Pain," Redlight King’s redemptive Hollywood Records debut album, Kaz relives both his darkest days and the turn-around, when he clawed his way back to the light.

A latticework of rock and hip hop, the album conjures old school sounds, thanks to Kaz and producers Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry, as well as the good vibes at Hollywood’s TGG Studios (now called Wax Studios, whose alums include Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and, yes, Neil Young). "I’m all about mixing in the old sounds," Kaz says, "and giving it that warm, analog feel. There is sampling, hip hop grooves and beats, but I also wanted good old fashioned meat and potatoes: bass, guitar, drums."

The sound may be warm, but his songs revisit the cold climate of Kaz’s native Hamilton, Ont., and the even chillier emotional landscape of his lost years. In the astonishing hip-hop flavored debut single, "Old Man," Kaz offers a reluctant salute to his father, a larger-than-life figure who taught school by day and raced stock cars at night ("The life he demanded/Kept us all in a struggle/When he ruled with his fist/It kept us all out of trouble"). "No father issues here," says Kaz with a laugh.

Hard-edged rockers like the blustery "Bullet in My Hand," "The Underground" and the title track take listeners on a vertical drop into an abyss Kaz once knew all too well. "Most of it was written while the feelings were still there," he recalls. "My songs are written about real issues, real experiences. I like to bring listeners in deep, and give them time to look around."

Kaz starts "digging six feet up" (as he puts it) on songs like "Comeback," "Built to Last" and the irresistibly melodic "Driving to Kalifornia." Collectively, they describe the hard labor of rebuilding a life, then hitting the road, with the wintry east receding in the rear view mirror. The album ends with the acoustic-flavored  "Past the Gates" and "When the Dust Settles Down," the former a hope-filled forward glance, the latter a last look back. He may be whistling past the graveyard, but it’s such a pretty tune.