GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS: nineteeneighties (Cooking Vinyl)

A mostly downbeat collection of covers from the former leader of Grant Lee Buffalo. Grant-Lee pays tribute to the more interesting stream of '80s artists, including The Church on an ominous version of Under the Milky Way. It's Phillips' own parallel universe to the overproduced schlock of that decade. He gives a moody, country lilt to Age of Consent (New Order), Wave of Mutilation (The Pixies) and So. Central Rain (REM), among others, finding the core of the songs in acoustic guitars and atmospheric touches. The instrumentation is all Grant, mostly acoustic guitar and atmospheric keyboards to support that evocative voice.

JEFF CRAWFORD