Whiskey Tango Ghosts

As frontwoman for '90s alt-pop comers Belly, Tanya Donelly scored a mini-hit with the perky bounce of "Feed the Tree." It wasn't exactly balls-to-the-wall rock'n'roll, but compared with her relentlessly delicate new solo effort, it may as well have been Metallica. However, Donelly's gentle tone suits Whiskey Tango Ghosts. Accompanied mostly by just acoustic guitar and piano, Donelly brings a kitchen table intimacy to tracks like "Every Devil" and "My Life as a Ghost." The pedal steel guitar on "Just in Case You Quit Me" is less about flashing a country twang than conjuring the despair at the tune's core. Donelly's girlish voice rarely rises above a breathy whisper, like she's worried about waking someone in the next room. With songs this sweet, it's unlikely anyone would mind.