“My last album was rather dark and intellectual,” Abby Travis reflects.  “This one comes more from the pelvis.”

The Los Angeles singer-songwriter, bassist and underground fashion icon is referring to her new release, GlitterMouth, an intoxicating amalgam of glam-rock, trip-hop, soul and cabaret. 

In addition to serving as the principal author of all of the songs (except the Shangri-Las cover “Past, Present & Future”), Travis sang lead and background vocals, played bass and a handful of other instruments, and produced, engineered and mixed the lion’s share of GlitterMouth.  “I know, I know,” she confesses with a silvery laugh, “I have trouble delegating sometimes.”

Despite her admitted “control freak” tendencies, Travis was assisted not only by longtime co-conspirators like keyboardist Kristian Hoffman (The Mumps, Klaus Nomi) and guitarist Dave Bongiovanni (El Vez) but by such special guests as hip-hop studio wizard Lamont Hyde (Dr. Dre), Cocteau Twins mastermind Simon Raymonde, Meat Puppets guitar icon Curt Kirkwood, punk trailblazers Alice Bag and Teresa Covarrubias, L7’s Donita Sparks, club king Jack Atlantis, and former Save Ferris vocalist Monique Powell.

Travis’ previous album, Cutthroat Standards & Black Pop, which earned praise from the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the LA Weekly and numerous other publications, primarily showcased her mordant wit and way with a smoky ballad.  GlitterMouth offers a more comprehensive view of her breathtaking musical range – and explores entirely new emotional territory. 

Kicking off with the shimmering glam epic “Now Was,” with its reflective yearning, the album finds Travis exploring Bowie-esque avant-funk (“Hunger”), swooning soul (“Grace,” “La Petit Mort,” “Chase Me,” “Roberto”), tantalizing torch songs (“Blythe”) and even shtetl-friendly shtick (the playful oom-pah pastiche “Shoot for the Stars”).  Meanwhile, on “Past, Present and Future,” a bizarre mid-’60s monologue of disillusionment, Travis strikes an impressive balance between camp and gravitas. 

Travis’ stylistic flexibility is mirrored by her vocal versatility.  She can segue from husky-voiced chanteuse to diva at the drop of a hat, and animates the ravished lovers, dejected ex-romantics and cockeyed optimists of her songs with both power and subtlety. 

“I wanted GlitterMouth to be as easily enjoyed by the casual listener as by the obsessive,” she remarks.  “With Cutthroat you really had to pay attention.  You can listen to this one just as closely, and notice cool little production touches and clever lyrics.  But you can also just put it on and enjoy it as party music.”

Her collaboration with Hyde marked Travis’ first foray into soul music. “Working in the trip-hop genre allowed me to explore my sexuality a bit more than I have in the past,” she points out.  “R&B lends itself to the sensualist vibe I wanted, so that was part of the appeal: Can I be bold enough to throw down my sexuality in a song without masking it with my intellect?”

At the same time, Travis insists, “One of the reasons it works is that I still sing like me.  I’m not going to pretend to be Whitney Houston or something.”

For all its visceral impact and erotic frisson, however, GlitterMouth does afford Travis the opportunity to wax philosophical – especially about the passage of time. “‘Now Was’ is sort of about how you grow up in rock and roll,” she relates.  “I’m old enough now that I can look back at certain parts of my life and choose to feel regret or be happy about how things went.  But most thoughtful adults reach the point where they ask, ‘Is this as good as it gets?’  I’m not a 22-year-old ingénue anymore, though I still have my youthful looks.  At the same time, I don’t want to lose the childlike aspects of my personality, the joy of rock and roll.  I hope to remain childlike but not as childish.”