Jessica Lea Mayfield's 'Tell Me' hypnotic

Jessica Lea Mayfield, “Tell Me” (Nonesuch)

Oh, my. It's been a long time since you've felt this way.

You're in love. L-O-V-E. Your heart's all pitter-pat, pitter-pat.

But after Jessica Lea Mayfield sets you up with opener “I'll Be the One That You Want Some Day,” she is telling you “Our Hearts are Wrong” on her enchanting and mesmerizing second album, “Tell Me.” And like the jerk she's dumping in one of the best songs you've heard in a long time, she's breaking your heart.

Just utterly smashing it to pieces with nuance and vibe and attitude with that sad, resolute voice with producer Dan Auerbach's menacing, razor-sharp guitar line leaning against the back wall cleaning its fingernails with a switchblade.

“Tell Me” is the portrait of a precocious girl growing into self-assured womanhood and a producer reaching the peak of his powers. It is a dark and moody album, full of delights throughout, and if it doesn't make Mayfield a star, that too will be heartbreaking.

Just 21, Mayfield is writing at a higher level than most of her peers. She's tough and wears it like a badge. On “Sometimes at Night,” she tells a lover it's not her fault: “I did not ask to be born with these eyes/eyes that always speak for my mind.”

Check this out: OK, we like every song on this album, so it's hard to choose. We'll go with “I'll Be the One That You Want Some Day,” the sultry opener that sets the mood for the remaining 10 tracks. On it a languid Mayfield wants to reach out, but she can't: “All I can think about is things I should not do.”