Last Train Home, Time and Water (Adult Swim, 2003)

With Time and Water, their third full-length CD, Washington, D.C.'s Last Train Home has become a full-time alt-country band. Led by former Washington Post music writer Eric Brace and his brother Allen, LTH members have reportedly quit their day jobs and gone on tour full-time to promote the album. It's a strong enough album to give them some hopes of success.

Last Train Home is one of the most critically acclaimed groups in the D.C.-area's thriving music scene. On this album, the nine-piece agglomeration is joined by, among others, local stalwarts Mary Battiata of Little Pink and Karl Straub of the Graverobbers, as well as Australian slide guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Lang.

It's a well-rounded effort, hitting all the bases of a classic country album, starting with the rollicking country-rocker "Lorelei." This one's a metaphor-laden love song built around the well-known siren's statue on the Rhine, with some slick guitar work from Lang and a catchy refrain of "I still like you..."

"Quarter to 3" is a mostly acoustic newgrass breakdown, with some bluesy wailing harp from Alan and nice dobro from Eric. "Once in a While" is a slow country-rocker, while "See What Love Can Do" is a nifty little bluegrass murder ballad; only this time, instead of boy killing girl, he kills her Pa and he and she live happily ever after -- more nice slide work from Lang on this one, too.

"Blue Skies" is a toe-tapping honky-tonk shuffle in the George Jones tradition, and "He's the Kind" is a hot bit of country soul, complete with organ and competing horns and harmonica. The pedal steel of Dave Van Allen goes head-to-head with Doug Derryberry's twangy Telecaster on "Best Wishes," in which a guy who can't make a commitment finds himself with nothing but a wilting bouquet and those wishes from his girl.

The band kicks out all the jams for a rocking take on the Bill Monroe-Peter Rowan song, "Walls of Time," and finishes things off with the Latin-tinged instrumental "Las Lagrimas del Pollo Rico." The trumpet carries the melody on this one, which is based on the Cuban tune "Veinte A-os," by Maria Teresa Vera.

What might have been a high point is a missed opportunity. Eric Brace starts off Little Pink's "All Right Okay" radically rearranged as a waltz, with just acoustic guitar and dobro accompaniment. It's a great concept and one that makes anyone familiar with this bittersweet song sit up and take notice. But after a brief intro, the whole band jumps in with a four-beat rhythm that's a little too fast for the tune, even though it's graced by Battiata's lovely harmonies.

Eric Brace, who wrote nearly all of these songs, has a way with words and melody, combining the two in a way that can pack an emotional punch. But there's something about the production that holds the listener at arm's length. These are fine, rootsy songs, but with all the instrumental flourishes -- a keyboard here, trumpet there, cello another place -- layered on, they're burnished to a glossy commercial sheen. Particularly with songs like the beautifully written title track, a meditation on the passages of a lifetime, a little more room to breathe might increase their impact.