POP MUSIC REVIEW : Sylvian Returns in Triumph to Scene of a Flop

David Sylvian must have felt nicely avenged during his Wiltern Theatre performance Tuesday night.

Ten years ago, as the lead singer for the flashy group Japan, Sylvian was roundly dismissed as a glam-rock hack. Today, the British singer/keyboardist/guitarist/composer has carved a small but successful niche for himself with atmospheric esoterica that falls somewhere between old-line progressive rock, post-punk experimentation and soft-centered New Age dreaminess.

At his first local solo date, a diverse audience of horn-rimmed art hounds, warmed-over New Romantics and the terminally upwardly mobile greeted Sylvian’s hypnotically entertaining two-hour set with reverential awe.

A slim wisp of a figure with a low, rangeless rumble of a voice and little stage presence, Sylvian is an odd choice for such adulation, but he doesn’t pretend to be a rock hero. Backed by an expert sextet including acclaimed trumpeter/keyboardist Mark Isham, Sylvian let the music do the talking and, intermittently at least, it spoke volumes.

He doesn’t compose pop songs but extended mood pieces, some of which, like the evocative “River Man” and the subtly optimistic “Let the Happiness In,” are mini-masterpieces of instrumental texture and shading.

Over the course of an evening, Sylvian’s sound tracks for unmade movies do wear thin. More contrasts and counterpoints in the melodies would have alleviated some of the tedious moments. But when Sylvian hit his stride, he got the last laugh on all those who thought he would gracelessly fade from the scene a decade ago.