California singer-songwriter, Kelli Scarr's sophomore album is an elegant piece of country-leaning folk, ripe with whispery cool vocals and lightly speckled backing that lulls into a false sense of calm. As pretty as the drizzled title track is, it is Scarr's vocal personality that really sells it as her voice creaks and breaks as she longs to restart a relationship. The wispy chill of "Thank You" is light enough to skate by unnoticed if not for the tightly wound melody in her vocals, before the song spreads its formidable wings with lush, grumbling guitar. Scarr shows that the wafer-thin vocals on tracks like wonderful ballad "Airon" are a conscious choice on the old school country charm of explosive horn and guitar filled "Phoenicia", as she lovingly recalls country songbirds like Loretta Lynn with a soaring vocal. Anxious fiddle and a bopping stand-up bass push along her cautious vocals on "Our Joy" before she wakes to an emotional yowl in the hook. The glossy country pop of "You Could Be So Great" rides greased lap steel and Scarr's wonderfully twangy voice. Scarr makes the transition between jazzy chanteuse and country powerhouse (and back again) look easy on her solid second effort.
Seek - "You Could Be So Great", "Phoenicia", "Our Joy"
For fans of - Mindy Smith
If you like this, we think you'll also dig - Julia Stone: By The Horns
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