**1/2 Peter Mulvey

DEEP BLUE

(Eastern Front)

On this follow-up to his striking debut, 1996's Rapture, ex-Bostonian Peter Mulvey digs deeper and bluer into a dark, claustrophobic closet of nightmares and obsessions. Producer Nicholas Sansano (Soul Coughing, Public Enemy) uses the guitarist and drummer from Groovasaurus to envelop Mulvey's tone poems in an otherworldly grip of ominous desperation, not unlike what Daniel Lanois did with Emmylou Harris on Wrecking Ball. The effect is of a cryptic, emotional SOS phoned in from the middle of a haunted black forest. Mulvey's compositions don't always bear the oppressive weight of the atmospherics, and the three covers he attempts, though well-chosen, only highlight his weaknesses as a songwriter. He lacks the narrative impact of Chris Smither, the edgy characterization of Tom Waits, and the poetic, melodic swing of David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos. He's certainly on the right track, however.

-- Seth Rogovoy

(Peter Mulvey performs with his band at Johnny D's this Friday, June 27; call 776-2004.)