***1/2 Nick Lowe

DIG MY MOOD

(Upstart/Rounder)

For a guy who coined the phrase "pure pop for now people," Nick Lowe's tastes are getting more retro all the time. If you always suspected the had a sentimental streak behind the wise-guy exterior, here's the proof: 12 songs, all sad and/or romantic, none "pure pop" in his usual sense. For the first time there's no Beatles overtones, no lead guitar, and no sense of humor. In the past, he would have worked a ballad like "You Inspire Me" for irony; here he does it straight-up and charming -- hip lounge bands should learn this one immediately. That's the one happy moment on an album where he masters the heartbroken country/soul ballad: "Cold Grey Light of Dawn," whose strings recall Elvis Presley's Memphis sessions, is as rocking as it gets.

But Lowe has never sung better -- on "Freezing" he finally becomes a crooner -- and the rootsy turn serves him well. The swampy "Lead Me Not," the '60s soul homage "What Lack of Love Has Done," and the dark cabaret-ish "Faithless Lover" are the kind of songs he's been trying to write for years. And the deeply jaded "Man That I've Become" is the best of his Johnny Cash ready-mades. Lowe remains a canny producer, using brushed drums, close-miked vocals, and echoed room sound to get a late-night ambiance that sounds finely crafted and tossed off at once. It's enough to make you stop wishing he'd get together with Dave Edmunds again.

-- Brett Milano