Having taken off nearly five years between 1998’s Slide and 2003’s Lullabye for Liquid Pig, Lisa Germano’s songs tell the stories of a lifetime lived in that half-decade. An addiction-themed thread sews these songs together, starting with the beautifully hushed “Nobody’s Playing,” where vintage organ tones drone hypnotically under a haunting piano. Over this, Germano’s breathy voice hovers like the ghostly figure gracing the cover art as she sings of drowning her sorrows. The addiction turns from alcohol to love in the following “Paper Doll,” where she yearns for an unrequited lover to the point of begging for his abuse over a haunting lullaby. In the disturbing title track, Germano confronts her pink elephant (or in this case, “Liquid Pig”) through static-textured vocal distortion crooned over discordant rhythms and Johnny Marr’s overdriven guitar feedback. In the ethereal warble of “Pearls,” Germano wears her alcoholism like jewelry before likening drinks to sweets in the twisted carnival whimsy of “Candy.” “Into the Night” casts a similarly showy beauty, closing the album with words that offer a glimmer of hope.