Chances are you only know Billie Burke as Glenda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz rather than the daffy comedienne she really was. But her more frequent film persona, the well-intentioned but slightly scatterbrained society lady, colors some of the gorgeous tunes on this carefully crafted pop record by the one-man band that takes its name from her New York home. The song “Everybody’s Gonna Die,” for example, cheerfully lists the deceased, then encourages you to “spread some sunshine before the rain” over a bouncy, piano-driven melody. The opener, “99 Liberty Lane,” evokes Harry Nilsson, “Penny Lane” and innumerable musicals. Here the narrator catalogues the denizens of an apartment building as they go about their daily business all while injecting a little venom in the lyrics as the music bops along. Seattle-based Andy Liotta, previously involved with power trios, has eased into song-writing reminiscent of Joe Jackson, Randy Newman and Rufus Wainwright. That is to say it's sharp, pretty, and full of keyboards and interesting chord changes. Liotta's vocal control is especially impressive. His voice wraps around words much like Elvis Costello's circa The Juliet Letters, except Liotta moves more deftly between notes than Costello could manage. Thematically, Liotta has the impressive ability to skate along the thin edge of romance without ever slipping into melodrama. It isn't until “Like I See You” that we see his desire for experimentation. The seven-and-a-half-minute track pumps up the drums and layers vocal upon vocal, creating repetition that captures the circularity of a doomed relationship. That sounds depressing, but Liotta’s touch throughout is too light to ever slide into mopiness. Instead, this is a wonderful and smart album that should attract some positive attention.

Hillary Brown