Lilly Hiatt and the Dropped Ponies

The invasion of the offspring continues. This is the debut from Lilly Hiatt, the Nashville-based daughter of much revered songsmith John Hiatt. Like her dad, she covers a wide range stylistically, though the bulk of her songs here fall into the Americana camp. However, it's actually the more rockin' songs that make the greatest impact. "Angry Momma" is boosted by some searing guitar work from Beth Finney, while fiery closing cut "Big Bad Wolf" has a Pretenders feel. Her able band, the Dropped Ponies, are often supplemented by producer/guitarist Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin), with her old man playing lead on "Master." Like Hiatt Sr., she comes up with evocative characters in her songs and her generally understated voice gets the portraits across nicely. This is definitely a promising beginning and let's hope she rocks out some more next time.