Duncan Sheik Phantom Moon (Nonesuch/Atlantic)

After scoring a sleeper radio hit with his first
single, "Barely Breathing," Duncan Sheik has pursued
an ambient vocal pop that
floats around the room without ever touching the
ground. Thanks largely to his creamy, vibrato-free
croon, this smoothie can
sing anything and it'll still come out melancholy and
pretty. For his third, pointedly non-rock album, Sheik
supplies tunes to the
words of playwright and fellow New Yorker Steven
Sater. But unless you study the CD booklet, you'd
never spot the lyrical
or vocal difference. Instead, the break from his
previous albums lies in the arrangements. Rather than
radio-friendly rock
guitars, Phantom Moon suggests folk without ever
sounding remotely folksy. Intimate strings, minimal
drums and soft sighs
caress meandering tunes that avoid hooks or obvious
statements. But Sheik's delivery lacks the emotional
depth of his U.K.
models: Nick Drake, David Sylvian and the Blue Nile
couldn't conceal their pain behind lush arrangements.
Phantom Moon
casts a lovely, languid shadow, but the originals
have got it eclipsed. (BARRY WALTERS)

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Mari Parker
Springroz@...

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