Black Yankee Rock

Marc Anthony Thompson has released only five albums in over 20 years, but he has made each one count. Black Yankee Rock — featuring artwork that gives the Dixie flag fresh shades of red, black, and green — is certainly no exception. After the tightly controlled blare of the opener, "The Beginning of Always," the album serves up track after track of laid-back backdrops that range from lighthearted to somber in mood. The album, seemingly made with easygoing Saturday mornings in mind, doesn't have quite as many dimensions as Black Music or Godmusic, but it could also be said that it shows more focus. (When you're releasing albums every four or five years, it can't be easy to keep yourself from throwing out all of your ideas, no matter how incongruous they are.) Thompson's following his own instincts, as always, and he always manages to pull off something as valuable as anything by Eels or Beck. Best of all is "It's Going Wrong," a collaboration with Moby that tops anything from the bald one's Hotel. Unfortunately, this album will only receive a sliver of the attention.