frozenstarpalace

Michelle Anthony has a big, full-throated, blues-tinged voice reminiscent of Bonnie Raitt or Lou Ann Barton, but she lacks much interest in plowing the same old roots rock field one might expect from a singer with this kind of instrument. Aimee Mann's post-punk take on the '70s singer/songwriter sound is much more what Anthony has in mind on her second album: the songs are inventively arranged, with much prominence given to Anthony's own battery of keyboards, ranging from Carole King/Carly Simon piano to the sort of oddball electric ornamentation that Patrick Warren uses to enliven Michael Penn's albums. Anthony's band consists mostly of Robbie Fulks' usual sidemen, which adds an occasional alt-country twang to tunes like "Hard Way to Lose," but on songs like the impassioned rocker "Ugly Side," which sounds like a lost gem from the Learning to Crawl-era Pretenders, and the astonishingly Mann-like "Aluminum," Anthony is making the AAA-radio scene her home, and it suits her. The only problem with Frozenstarpalace is that at seven songs in just under 25 minutes, it's too short by half.