In Patty Griffin [ tickets ]'s sad and lovely songs, men pretend to be sleeping while their wives kiss them goodbye, trains don't arrive and birds can't fly. Some people travel too far to receive letters from home, and others wonder why they can't leave the town they're stuck in.

Griffin creates a lonely place, but her sweet voice, simple guitar and selective horns and strings still make it a destination worth visiting. Like her last album, "1000 Kisses," she tries on other character's shoes--men who never showed emotion, tired women praying to the Virgin Mary--but there is more personal work here as well.

Many songs, while not overtly political, bring up a world in turmoil. "There's a million sad stories on the side of the road / Strange how we all just got used to the blood," she sings in "Cold as it Gets." The opener, "Love Throws a Line," offers an end-of-the-world gospel warning--before everything falls apart, hold on to the love you have with all you've got.

Backed on some songs by the likes of Emmylou Harris, the most poignant assistance Griffin gets may be from her parents, who sing an abbreviated version of "Impossible Dream," the inspirational ballad from "Man of La Mancha" and source of the album's title. Though they can't match Griffin's thoughtful soprano, the way her father hangs in the background until he suddenly belts the line, "This is my quest, to follow that star," is one strikingly positive moment on an album full of fearful people longing for a little piece of hope.