On her first CD in five years, Kelly Willis returns from a hiatus to raise her kids with this alt-country gem. As on her two earlier Rykodisc albums, 1999's "What I Deserve" and 2002's "Easy," Willis ruminates in a heartfelt vein on such tunes as the slow heartbreak waltz "Too Much to Lose" and sasses with whimsy on such rowdy covers as Iggy Pop's deep-in-the-ditches "Success." Groomed as the next big thing in country in the early '90s, Willis has successfully avoided Nashville expectations by following her gut. She plays the country card superbly on tunes like the sweetly melancholic "Losing You," colored by Greg Leisz's banjo and pedal-steel wash, and the rockabilly-tinged "Teddy Boys." But Willis also puts the twang into pop material, highlighted by the opener "Nobody Wants to Go to the Moon Anymore." —Dan Ouellette