In what would have to rank as one of the year's least expected comebacks, Edie Brickell [ tickets ] and New Bohemians return with their first album in 16 years. And, surprisingly, it was worth the wait.

It's not like the masses have been clamoring for the return of Brickell and the Bohemians, a group that first stormed the charts with the 1989 debut CD "Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars" and the hit single "What I Am." Yet, here they are again--and sounding like a completely re-energized and vital band.

Produced by both the band and Bryce Goggin (Trey Anastasio, Herbie Hancock), "Stranger Things" is pretty strong from start to finish. The set opens in fine fashion with the title track, a catchy, radio-friendly number where Brickell's soft voice closely resembles that of The Sundays' Harriet Wheeler. "Oh My Soul" is another winner, a driving, mid-tempo rocker with, indeed, plenty of soul, while "Buffalo Ghost" is a hauntingly pretty number that grows more appealing with each listen.

The majority of the album floats about in the dreamy alt-pop realm. Brickell, however, does show some range, especially on the jazzy, Latin-tinged "No Dinero," which comes across like the type of hipster, lounge-friendly ditty that one finds in the songbook of Nellie McKay.

Could this strong effort be a surprise hit for the band? Stranger things, indeed, have happened.