There's nothing like a brush with death to get your attention. After being out of commission for the past few years thanks to what was reportedly a near-fatal bout with hepatitis C, Alejandro Escovedo is back in action. And he's making up for lost time.

The Boxing Mirror is the veteran Austin singer-songwriter's first new studio album in four years. It's also the most ambitious and fully realized album of his career.

This is partly because it balances all the varied styles of Escovedo's long and winding professional road -- the gritty roots-rock of True Believers and Buick McKaine; the rich, sombre orchestral ballads of A Man Under the Influence; the literate Latino melancholia of By the Hand of the Father.

And it's partly because this disc was produced by legendary Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, who fattens up Escovedo's sound with layers of keyboards, drum loops, messy strings and atmospheric drones, but never gets in the way of the songs.

But mostly it's because those songs -- from quiet brooders like Arizona and Died a Little Today to stylish works like Dear Head on the Wall and Take Your Place to raw garage-rockers like Break This Time and Sacramento & Polk -- are simply some of the most passionate, confident and artful works Escovedo has committed to disc.

It's got our attention.

Track Listing:

1. Arizona
2. Dear Head on the Wall
3. Notes on Air
4. Looking for Love
5. Ladder
6. Break This Time
7. Evita's Lullaby
8. Sacramento & Polk
9. Died a Little Today
10. Take Your Place
11. Boxing Mirror
12. One True Love