Laura Cantrell

No Way There From Here

BY Kristin CavoukianPublished Jan 24, 2014

8
It seems like no amount of Nashville can crush Laura Cantrell's optimism. This songwriter's fifth album starts off with an undeniably happy vibe, with the first track, "All the Girls are Complicated," sounding like it jumped off of a shiny New Pornographers album. But it's Cantrell's bright, warm voice that delivers the happiness, even when her lyrics veer toward the lonesome and listless, as they do on the title track.

This fine example of Americana lets Cantrell's Nashville leanings show in the spare pedal steel lines, three-part harmonies, banjo and fiddle fills. The depth of Cantrell's songwriting is best appreciated the second or third time around, once you're over the sheer prettiness of her voice.
(Thriftshop)

Latest Coverage