Holly Golightly

After cutting her hemlines in the early '90s with Thee Headcoatees, Holly Golightly has mapped a solo road paved with some of the most wonderful '60s mod pop around. She swings from Nico-ish chanteuse to lip-curled grrrl, referencing your Dusty Springfields, your Kinks, your dreams of that idyllic cool girlfriend, with sly putdowns delivered with eye-batting savoir faire. Though she released more than eight LPs during the now-waning "garage revival," Holly was never swept up in those shenanigans; her songwriting veers closer to classic torch-song suave than lite-beer bravado.

So longtime fans were worried when her latest, Truly She Is None Other (Damaged Goods), came connected to the White Stripes hype. Holly sang on the latest Stripes CD; this record comes with liner notes by Jack White, reviews that mention the Stripes before Holly, and CD art with the color scheme and lettering used on the Stripes' Elephant. But all worries wane with one spin of Truly. It's yet another fine collection. And if it's slightly tighter in production and appearance, it's more the case of an artist fully settling into her career. Holly's just getting what ought to come to someone this dolled up with talent.