Aimee Mann, Lost in Space

This could be the most anticipated album of the year among Rakish readers. Let’s refresh our screens on Ms. Mann, shall we? When we last heard from her, she had conquered the world with her brilliant album Bachelor No. 2 — a wonderful, self-produced record that provided the inspiration for (and ultimately the soundtrack to) Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated movie Magnolia . (One of those nominations was for the soundtrack—go, Aimee! Alas, she lost to that wuss Phil Collins, who wrote the soundtrack to Disney’s Tarzan.) This was almost literally a Cinderella story. Mann had, of course, made a name for herself as the rat-tailed singer of “Voices Carry,” in her New Wave band of the 80s, Til Tuesday. But as a solo artist through the 90s, she was poorly managed by a couple of ham-handed major labels, despite releasing two excellent albums. In 1998, she struck out on her own, recorded Bachelor No. 2, and took it directly to the people by selling it on the Web. It was the most success and critical acclaim she’d ever enjoyed, and she deserved it. Now Mann returns a hero, and we are happy to report that she is still in fine form, continuing to write what is universally identified as “sublime pop,” with smart lyrics, lush arrangements, soaring vocals, and all the rest.