Grant-Lee Phillips Virginia Creeper (Cooking Vinyl COOKCD292) Formerly of Grant Lee Buffalo, namesake Grant-Lee Philips is rooting himself firmly in the alternative country camp with the much-anticipated follow-up to 2001’s acclaimed Mobilize. Taking up Ryan Adams’ cherrless acoustic mantel, the LA-based troubadour strums and bleeds his heart out on behalf of a range of melancholic characters. This CD, highly reminiscent of Caitlin Cary’s Whiskeytown efforts, evokes the sorrowful sounds of the Carlinas rather than the fuzzed up guitar of the Buffalo days, and twinkling skies of banjo distance him further still from the smoggy city he calls home. Besides the stunning opening track "Mona Lisa", a heartfelt ballad seeping with streams of warm nostalgia, highlights include: "Calamity Jane" - a distant yodel hinting towards the open plains and lonesome cowboys of the wild west; "Wish I Knew" - Grant-Lee’s best Jeff Buckley impersonation; and the soulful piano epitaph "Susannah Little" - fireside storytelling at its best. Grant-Lee’s tempered golden voice is a delight in itself. And his delicate cover of Gram Parson’s "Hickory Wind", which draws Virginia Creeper to a close, could hardly be better camouflaged. All in all, a lovely collection of songs. -- HK

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