The Spinanes' brilliant debut (1993's Manos) and near-brilliant follow-up (1996's Strand) benefited immeasurably from the tension between Rebecca Gates' innovative guitar lines and Scott Plouf's spare, taut drum work. But Plouf has left to join Built To Spill, leaving Gates essentially solo; the resulting album, Arches And Aisles, finds Gates replacing him with the studio support of friends and well-wishers. ("Reach v. Speed," one of the album's best tracks, even features backing vocals courtesy of The Sea And Cake's Sam Prekop.) Songs like "Leisure Run" and the great "Eleganza" amble along much more fluidly than anything Gates and Plouf did together, while a few other tracks even dabble in electronic quirksmanship. It takes a while to get used to The Spinanes as a comparatively conventional pop/rock band: The beauty of its early recordings is in that deceptively simple balance of drums, minor-key guitars, and Gates' soft, sympathetic voice. But what Arches And Aisles loses in instrumental tension—the 11 songs often feature bass and a variety of keyboards—it gains in sleek atmosphere. And, as always, Gates is a terrific singer, bringing to Arches And Aisles an equal and ideal mixture of sweetness and bitterness.