POP MUSIC : SPRING ALBUM ROUNDUP

*** LYLE LOVETT “Joshua Judges Ruth” MCA/Curb

In which the musical maverick looks Death in the eye and doesn’t blink, exactly. He does shiver a bit, but he gets some laughs out of it too--and, remarkably, he sometimes does both at once, as in the line about his baby cousin’s early departure (“It was peanut butter and jelly that did it . . .”).

Lovett’s fourth album has a good load of the stuff that’s made the Nashville-based Texan a cult-hero on the brink of bigger things: hard jumpin’ blues; slow saloon blues; a touch of country; solemn, atmospheric folk. This familiar fare ranges from routine exercises in the Lovett genre (the upbeat “Been to Memphis” and “She Makes Me Feel Good”) to exceptionally touching refinements (the lower-key “Already Made Up Her Mind” and “North Dakota”).

But the musical tone is decidedly more downbeat than its predecessor, 1989’s “Lyle Lovett and His Large Band,” and its heart is a triptych of contemplations on mortality: “Since the Last Time,” a complex tour de force in which the guest of honor at a funeral offers a range of rich observations in a roof-raising gospel setting; “Baltimore,” a fatalistic reflection on filial destiny that Lovett sings like an ancient, dread-filled ballad, and the tragicomic “Family Reserve,” a body-count waltz whose ghost chorus takes it out on an oddly reassuring note.

That 16-minute stretch represents a brave choice of artistry over easy access. Those who enjoy Lovett’s broader gestures might prefer another gospel extravaganza, “Church,” which playfully depicts the conflict between spiritual and physical needs. Well, Randy Newman can stretch all the way from “That’s Why I Love Mankind” to “I Love L.A.,” and Lovett now has the credentials to claim the same privilege.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent).