When Beth Orton appeared on Sessions at W. 54th recently, she wore an Air T-shirt and sang songs so quiet they barely seemed to exist. With 1998 handing us albums by Belle and Sebastian and the Pernice Brothers, and 1999 about to spring Beth Orton’s second record on to the world, it’s obvious a faction of modern rock fandom is fed up with the repetitive trash-noise of the Carson Daly set.

The jewel case of Orton’s 1997 CD, "Trailer Park", could be found lying open at the bedsides of ennui-stricken bohemian types, from consumptive-looking Trainspotting extras to beflanneled alt.country depressives, to doe-eyed Scarsdale preteens seeking the next Natalie Merchant. Orton’s music is plaintive, folky, slightly ambient; her voice a reedy Python-esque drag-cockney with an endearing timbre.

"Central Reservation" is ambient too, but not so much in terms of beats as echoey space, unobtrusive production. The focus is on ballads this time, sweet and slow, and every string of every strum can be heard. While the snail’s pace of the album has a conversational quality, it drags along at times, and it’s not exactly a short record.

The strongest cut on "Central Reservation" is the title track. Its melody soars and dips, its lyrics an ode to passive positivity ("today is all that I want it to be"). It’s nice to walk around with on a sunny, cold day, hitting the repeat button the second before the next track number appears on the CD Walkman’s digital readout. "Central Reservation" appears twice on its namesake album; the second version is a forgettable dance remix, but likeable enough when listened to.

Beth Orton’s got the unpinpointable "it"-and it separates her from 95 percent of her used-bin neighbors. It’s the "it" that keeps us wading through the cheap stacks, hoping we’ll stumble upon undiscovered genius. At this point in her career, she’s neither undiscovered nor genius, but she’s a convincing "first listen", which is rare, and subsequent plays of "Central Reservation" never lose their appeal. She deserves all the acclaim Kurt Loder will toss her way this fall, upon the release of her collaboration with Beck.


"Central Reservation" will be released by Arista on March 9.