Part-time Woodstock resident Graham Parker­­once one of new wave's angriest young men­­takes a similarly contemplative turn on the recently released 12 Haunted Episodes, his indie-label debut album. Parker leaves behind not only the cleverly spewed venom for which he is best known, but also the pinched, punk-ish sound that gave that venom force on classic albums like Squeezing Out Sparks and Howlin' Wind.

In their place is a folky guitar style and 12 poetic songs that chronicle Parker's search for truth rather than his all-out attacks on hypocrisy. Could be that living in the country agrees with him, or maybe he just knows anger is a young man's game. As he sings on the love song "Pollinate," "People think I'm/ Filled with hate/ They've got it wrong/ That's out of date."

Parker may no longer be filled with bile, but his songs are still catchy, his lyrics still right on the mark. 12 Haunted Episodes is one of his most vital albums since his late-'70s heyday, and its soul-searching suggests that the haunter of the album's songs may be Parker himself. With its redemptive plea to "Take me from this abyss," "Cruel Stage" could be taken as a regretful backward glance at more cynical days. Parker also seems to be coming to terms with his inability to change the world. "Stuff that once seemed/ In reach is not any nearer," he sings on "Haunted Episodes."

Still, Parker isn't lowering his expectations so much as struggling to come to terms with a world that rarely lives up to them. The most powerful song on the album is "Disney's America," Parker's wry comment on Disney's plan to build a Virginia theme park based on American history. Parker's playing may sound laid-back, but with striking sensitivity ("My feet turned to clay"), he's still taking aim at the greed and hypocrisy that treat passion as an ordinary word.

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