IS IT time for the subtle to inherit the music world? With the anti-X-Factor groundswell, Lambchop, who have rarely troubled themselves with fashion, could do well.

But you suspect not, theirs being a rarefied blend of quiet introspection, a bit-too-clever instrumentation and their secret weapon, one Kurt Wagner. Wagner had been getting over the suicide of his friend, the musician Vic Chesnutt, by painting, but was coaxed into this recording by pianist and producer Mark Nevens.

The washes of sound reflect Wagner’s muse, framed within a more crafted sound that recalls their earlier Is A Woman album and underscored by understated string arrangements. The half-sung lyrics are poetic and homespun, not obviously about Chesnutt, and as elusive as a shadow. This concoction works best on Kind Of or the touching Betty’s Overture, but over the course of 11 songs the effect is diluted.

Like Jimmy Scott’s work with Ray Charles, this is music designed to evoke a particular mood; a wintry emptiness that does little to entice the unfamiliar.