Lookaftering

Bunyan's voice is high, stately and choiral, somewhat akin to Nico, had she been born not in Cologne, but some verdant English meadow. Accordingly, it's the perfect vehicle for these dainty, pastoral sing-songs. A number of musicians guest here: Devendra Banhart plays steel acoustic guitar on "Wayward", while Joanna Newsom contributes restrained but elegant harp to "If I Were" and "Against The Sky". But their performances are restrained and supportive, never threatening to overwhelm Bunyan's florid, fragile nursery rhymes. A quietly terrific return; consider this a case of writer's block shaken.-Louis Pattison