IS there a better name in music than Ambrosia Parsley? The alt.country pin-up girl heads a moody three piece, and it is her emotive voice, trailing over fairly standard torch songs, that make this release distinctive.

Beset by record company problems, it is more than five years since their well-received debut. Since then, Parsley has taken to singing the news on American Internet radio - with aplomb. That sense of fun is notably absent here and the pace is infernally slow.

Only I Close My Eyes lifts proceedings, and it is one of the highlights, although the honours go to the wonderfully atmospheric closer I Will Go Quietly. For late night serenading, You Got Trouble is second to none - tunes worthy of a Casablanca re-make.

Updated: 11:04 Thursday, May 12, 2005