Sam Phillips has taken a glorious half-step backward with her latest album, Omnipop. For 1994's critically lauded Martinis & Bikinis, Phillips and her husband/producer T-Bone Burnett stripped away the layers of slick production that appeared on previous works, leaving a raw edge on the Beatles-inspired writing which defined that album. While Omnipop carries over that album's immediate production, its varied, experimental nature makes it sound as if this is the album that was meant to follow her 1991 album Cruel Inventions. Indeed, only one song here ("Power World") recalls material off Martinis... Otherwise, Omnipop is an adventure in atmospheric change, with heavily political messages ("Plastic Is Forever") immediately followed by lighthearted, whimsical tales that sound as if they're channeled directly from the 1930s ("Animals On Wheels"). Elsewhere, "Where Are You Taking Me" exposes Phillips' haunting side in a way that we haven't heard since Cruel Inventions' "Private Storm." Despite the stylistic changes on Omnipop, Phillips' amazing melodies and pure, crystalline vocals remain constant. Absolute, omniscent pop: "Entertainment" and "Slapstick Heart."