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*** Richard Davies

BARBARIANS

(Kindercore)

Richard Davies has the cult artist's knack for either staying one step ahead of what little limelight is cast upon him or shrinking from the glare of recognition entirely, preferring instead to lurk in shadows of his own making. Davies got his start back in '91 with the short-lived avant-indie outfit the Moles, then formed the critically lauded Cardinal with Eric Matthews a few years later. After making one quietly perfect album that updated the Left Banke and the Zombies and set a standard for '90s-style chamber pop, Davies bolted for a solo career.

Although he's upped the rock quotient and pared back the support staff this time around, the Sydney songwriter's impeccable third outing doesn't sound terribly different from his previous solo discs, There's Never Been a Crowd like This and Telegraph. Which means there's another flower bed of fragrant pickings here, from the gilded majesty of "Coldest Day" to the clandestine, jasmine-scented interlude of "Palo Alto" to the mildly hungover street scenes that swirl amid "Formulas." As always, Davies writes with casual, if opaque, eloquence about what he sees around him, offering a glimpse of detail here and a morsel of introspection there, but never standing still in the sunlight long enough to be recognized.

-- Jonathan Perry