After working alongside songwriter Chip Taylor, fiddler and singer-songwriter Carrie Rodriguez has been working up her own formidable solo career. With the aid of producer Malcolm Burn, known for his work with the late Chris Whitley and Emmylou Harris, and co-writers Gary Louris of the Jayhawks, Jim Boquist of Son Volt, and fellow alt.country songstress Mary Gauthier, Rodriguez put together her second solo album, 2008’s She Ain’t Me, with a smooth, atmospheric glaze haunting these compact and poignant tunes that ache with a heart lost and a world in disarray. “Infinite Night” struggles with class warfare. “She Ain’t Me” delivers perfect country-pop in a self-empowerment anthem. “Absence” spooks along with Rodriguez’s eerie violin finally making its first appearance (oddly, she only employs her main instrument sparingly on three tracks). “Mask of Moses” adds Lucinda Williams’ ghostly backing vocals. “Grace” and “Let Me In” crawl through what feels like an endless night of desire and ennui. By the album’s closing track, “Can’t Cry Enough,” it’s evident that no matter how easeful her sound, Rodriguez is exploring some dark terrain.