Album of the Year

The emotional tone of this album is what grabs your attention the most. I have written before of her proximity to those other alternative female balladeers, Laura Stevenson and Sharon Van Etten, and I still think that's accurate, but she also has her own thing going on here, not quite baroque pop, but a kind of late afternoon tea-time sundown lullaby. this is most evident on "Enough to Kill", with its lush arrangement and insistent string parts. the mood she creates is pleasantly disturbing, or disturbingly pleasant, or something.

Other highlights include the lead single "The Starter Wife", a song of defiance and refusal to conform to the desires of others. "Something Like Heartache" contains the devastating line "I wonder how something so hard/can come from something so soft", a perfect example of her heartfelt lyricism. however, the standout tune for me is "Ghosting", a gothic parlor tune with an eerie vibe and chilling vocal performance.

John Louis Howard