TUESDAY: ALMOST HOME

“WELCOME HOME.” ’til tuesday. Epic. One of the most inspired things about ‘til tuesday’s second album may be the choice of Rhett Davies as producer. Best known for his work with Roxy Music, Davies places Aimee Mann’s songs in gleaming, elegant settings. His stylish sensibility nicely complements much of the material, and his production polish rarely undermines the more impassioned, assured vocals by Mann.

Her singing sometimes soars and sometimes drops to a guttural purr, and she hits both ends of that range on the first single, “What About Love,” an engaging tune that brings all of the Boston quartet’s strengths together. Same goes for keyboardist Joey Pesce’s contribution “Lover’s Day,” the LP’s most muscular track--and the one that represents ‘til tuesday’s funkier side, which the Boston band plays down in favor of too many slow, atmospheric pieces. Mann is adept at writing melancholy lyrics about shattered romance, but they don’t have to be set to languid music. A solid album, but a bit more spunk would’ve made it better.