Sam Phillips - not the head of Sun Studios, but the singer-songwriter and wife of T Bone Burnett - may not be a household name, but she has earned a critical reputation for smart, intimate pop. Her two previous albums, The Indescribable Wow and Cruel Inventions, were both striking and distinct, and her third is no disappointment. Why? First, her voice is a bewitching warbley contralto, in the same league as Victoria Williams, Susanna Hoffs, and Rickie Lee Jones. Second, Phillips writes delicate and well-spoken songs; her viewpoint can be that of an expatriate from the church (she used to record for a Christian label) or a disaffected romantic partner. And third, the production, courtesy of T Bone (who has produced all of Phillips's albums) and XTC bassist Colin Moulding, is a perfectly suited accompaniment. The supporting cast is superb, as always, including avant guitarist Marc Ribot, REM's Peter Buck, and one-time Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks. T Bone meshes the instruments into an organic sound, one that invites close and repeated listens. Phillips is no ingenue, instead she is a breathtaking talent ready to be discovered by the public.