Given the success of the previous album, Liz Lenten returned to Nashville in 2015 for the next release, to work yet again with producer/guitarist Thomm Jutz and the same band. However, this time around there was no steel guitar, and instead of Terry Crisp instead there was Justin Moses on fiddle, banjo and dobro, with the rest of the musicians being the same. This change of just one musician had a real impact on the sound of the album, given just how prevalent the steel had been on ‘Nashville’, and this felt as being less of a traditional country and western release and something far more commercial which had similar roots but had moved far more into singer-songwriter territory. Again Liz wrote all the songs, with just one co-write with Mark Gustavina this time around.

Liz’s distinctive voice are very much to the fore, with the overall sound and musicians seeming somewhat closer in the arrangements. This was the second album they had recorded together and there was by now an ease in understanding, and a dobro has a quite different sound and attack than a pedal steel and does not cut through in quite the same manner. This feels more relaxed than the previous one, but still with plenty of passion and expression. One concentrates a great deal on the vocals and lyrics, and the layers of sound are designed for exactly that to happen. This has much more of a Sixties singer-songwriter influence, yet still contains the roots of her love of country, the result being an album of real depth and power which will appeal to anyone who loves Americana, especially when the banjo kicks in and it feels as if we are in the home of bluegrass.

Rating: 8/10

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Track list:
1. Mixed Feelings
2. Love Lost Its Way
3. New Year’s Day
4. Friends
5. Hell Hath No Fury
6. Crystal Stairs
7. Lovers Lullaby
8. Out There
9. More Than Everything
10. Wood for the Trees
11. Quiet Life
12. Feel the Sun

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Links:
https://www.auburn.org.uk/
https://www.scarletmedia.co.uk/scarlet-records