Raised by Wolves

If it's difficult to place Jenee Halstead's third album, Raised by Wolves, in any distinct time or place, that's to the singer/songwriter's credit. Nominally rooted in folk and occasionally recalling PJ Harvey's knack for spare, unsettling underwater lullabies, Halstead doesn't quite exist in any specific category; despite some tension-racked drum loops, the music doesn't rock, yet it never succumbs to the soft strumming of folk. She, like Neko Case before her, mines allegories and fables for her songs, but Halstead isn't a cyclone. She floats and observes, almost achieving a spectral presence on her own songs. Certainly, her keen, powerful voice is a gateway into Raised by Wolves, but the music, for as many questions as it raises, is immediate. It's a vivid dream world and one that begs for more than one visit.