Since Bodies of Water's last record, 2008's A Certain Feeling, much has happened to them; travels throughout N.

America in their stalwart motor-home, the departure and arrival of various band members, the unexpected notoriety of core duo David & Meredith's crypto-disco trio Music Go Music, and the construction of their drafty yet dependable home studio.

From this milieu has emerged the singular statement that is Twist Again. Recorded and mixed at home by David and (a newly pregnant) Meredith in Highland Park (their northeast L.A.

neighborhood), the album is a work out of time. It sounds like no other record of 2011, or maybe any other era.

The album seems to have escaped the stamp of the cut & paste digital age - it sounds like people playing music together in a room, which it essentially is.

Since their inception, BoW has performed in various incarnations ranging from two to fifteen people, and the group's extended musical family was drawn upon heavily in seeding Twist Again's sonic landscape with horns, strings, saxophones, percussion, and more.

The fuzzed out guitar lines and heavy organs of previous BoW recordings have morphed into a J.C.

Vannierinspired stew of buzzing reeds and rich brass. The choral blasts have been replaced by cascades of strings and driving pianos à la Roy Orbison or EnnioMorricone.

From the haunting lullabies "Rise Up, Careful" and "Lights Out Forever" to the pathos-anthems "Mary, Don't You Weep" and "Like A Stranger," these are rare sorts of classic melodies, and the arrangements give them room to resonate.

David's shaky baritone (imagine a relaxed Scott Walker) andMeredith's clear, tendermezzo-soprano take turns at the head of the band, and join for a duet.

This time around, listening is an invitation inside, rather than a challenge to keep up.

In light of this new offering, we're able to step back far enough to see the arc of Bodies ofWater's work.While they produce consistently provocativematerial, no albumsoundsmuch like the last one, and there's been no way to predict which direction they'll head in next.While this may be a liability in an age of short attention spans and overwhelming amounts of music, a careful listen reveals Twist Again to be a remarkable achievement, and themanifestation of a group who are extraordinarily good at what they do.