As it turns out, the second time's the charm. L'Avventura stacks six off-the-beaten-path covers against five originals, a wise move that steers the focus away from novelty and in favor of the pair's engaging vocal interplay. Phillips's voice has a fetching smokiness to it, sort of like a more self-assured Hope Sandoval, and it brilliantly entangles Wareham's wary croak to quite bewitching ends.
The album kicks off with two newly penned duets: the elegant "Night Nurse" -- formed around Wareham's signature fluid guitar work and breezy violins -- and "Ginger Snaps," which sashays around the room in a quasi-disco style while offering such typically abstruse Wareham-isms as "When the kitchen sinks/When the sugar winks/When the doctor calls/When Niagara Falls." Next is a moody, urbane take on Madonna's "I Deserve It" (with Wareham assuming the vocal lead), followed shortly by the duo's shining moment -- a stirring, string-laden rendition of Buffy St. Marie's "Moonshot." The set does contain one or two missteps, notably a lukewarm interpretation of the Doors' "Indian Summer," but L'Avventura mostly glows like new lovers delighting in every aspect of their blossoming romance.
