Phillips' last collection was 1996's Omnipop, a smart and funny album of sophisticated pop which should have garnered her a larger audience than it did.
Whether or not this L.A.-based cult favourite, who is married to her producer T-Bone Burnett, finally breaks through with this equally striking -- if totally different-sounding collection -- remains to be seen.
But with more mainstream success greeting such cult contemporaries as Lucinda Williams, one can only hope.
Standouts include the stripped down and strings-accompanied Wasting My Time, with arrangements provided by Van Dyke Parks, the pretty, harmony-laden How To Dream, and the cool, Latin rhythms of the instrumental Is That Your Zebra?
Also good is the twang of Soul Eclipse and Incinerator, the cabaret pop of Edge Of The World, and the folky Five Colors and Love Is Everywhere I Go.
In addition to Parks, singer-songwriter Gillian Welch also appears here singing backup and playing bass.
The plan is for Phillips to tour later in the fall. The sooner the better, I say.