Thoughtful singer-songwriter folk-pop-Americana
This Austin, TX-based singer-songwriter opens her sophomore release with an original mid-tempo song whose confessional folksiness could make you think of Jewel, even more so for the slight hitch in the high notes of her voice. But as a piano-based composer recording in Nashville there’s more weight to her arrangements, and gospel vocal inflections steer this to a soulful realm. That soulfulness is reinforced by lyrics that form an inner-monolog of human isolation, spiritual faith and sought-after redemption. Heady stuff for a pop shuffle. Similarly intriguing is the panorama of obliviousness, opportunism and fatalism drawn in the trio “Trees,†“We Made the Spirits Move†and “Trains I Missed.†In the first, a man is seen as forsaking love’s call, in the second, romantic opportunity is seized with unnaturally script-like precision, and in the third, the path along life’s many choices leads to the prize. That latter pair, along with the album’s production, was crafted by Texas hill-country singer/songwriter Walt Wilkins, who also adds his voice to the duet “Spirits.†The upbeat “Higher†is given a crossover polish that sounds almost out of place here, as it’s the complex imagery and confessional vocal of Wilkins’ title tune, a duet with Ryan Turner on the original “Eagles,†a slowly building cover of Patty Griffin’s “Nobody’s Cryin’,†the haunting piano-and-voice “Paint,†and the searching closer, “Lesson Never Learned,†that will stick with you. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com] 