Lene Lovich - Shadows and Dust (2005)

Produced by Mike Thorne for release on his own Stereo Society label, Shadows and Dust is, arguably, the album that Lovich should have made in 1980, following Flex with a set that maintained her grip on compulsive rhythms and eccentric pop, rather than swooping off into the increasingly self-conscious waters that so marred her actual career. Tight rubbery tempos, a skewed look at lyrical life, and a voice that can still rush from too-tender-to-touch to Kate Bush on acid are all present and correct, and any one of the songs here -- the superlative "Wicked Witch," the electrifying "Ghost Story," the subtle "Gothic" -- would have dignified her late-'70s heyday without a second thought. There is, perhaps, a giveaway sense of maturity in place, to remind us that a lot of years have passed since Queen Lene was last comfortable on her throne; and just a tad of bitterness, as we contemplate the army of imitators who were somehow able to muscle her to one side at the time. But Shadows and Dust nevertheless marks the kind of comeback that one wishes every ‘70s veteran could turn their hand to, and it's great to know that the old lavish Lovich magic doesn't only live on in our hearts. It's loose in the modern world as well.