Mojave 3: Out Of Tune

On Out Of Tune, the second album by Mojave 3, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and former Slowdive member Neil Halstead makes one big tactical error: He sings lead on every one of its 10 tracks. Throughout the group's gorgeous 1996 debut, Ask Me Tomorrow, he shares those duties with bassist and fellow Slowdive alumnus Rachel Goswell, and her transcendent vocals—Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval is an obvious reference point—help render the record almost too beautiful to be real. Here, she's used about as often and as prominently as a pop band might use a flute, and that's a shame. Ultimately, however, it just means it might take a couple of listens before you realize how gorgeous and compelling Out Of Tune really is. Halstead may not be the world's most technically gifted singer, but he adopts just the right wounded tone for his well-crafted lyrics. More important is the group's subtle and simple, yet surprisingly full-sounding, instrumentation, which includes doses of organ, horns, and pedal-steel guitar. On "Caught Beneath Your Heel," there's even a performance by Lisa Millet, billed as a "gospel diva." Out Of Tune ventures ever further from Slowdive's signature shoegazer guitar haze, sticking primarily to clear, somber pop and stately ballads. But the album isn't some depressive snooze: "Some Kinda Angel," "All Your Tears," "Baby's Coming Home," and "Give What You Take" (with its irresistible "la-la-la-la" chorus) are all slow and languid, but they're too subtly upbeat to render the album the one-note bore it might have been. Goswell's contributions may be limited, but Halstead does a terrific job on his own here.