This is one special country and western record, and Bostonian Lori McKenna is one very special country singer/songwriter.

Starting with a wonderful mellow voice that sounds a little like America’s Buffy St Marie, McKenna tops it all with some of the strongest country song writing I have heard in recent years. Opener Bible Song is a rumbling country ballad with stunning lyrics (“No strangers in this town, no one moves without making a sound. Live and die within the borders and lines, no one dies without paying their fines”) and a vintage country vocal. Strong melody and wonderful arrangement complete a formidable package. But there’s better to come. In fact every song here has something very special to offer, so I’ll stick to what I feel are the highlights.

And perhaps one of the very best is Silver Bus, a contemplative, moving homespun song, performed with passion and sincerity. Lyrically it’s another marvel: “Laundry hangs by a wire, in our yard but I’ve no desire, to go and pick it off one shoulder at a time.” The next track, Pour injects a bluesy vibe and a vocal that travels the scale with consummate ease. Add a telling percussive backdrop with a wandering country guitar, heartbreaking lines (“In the depths of the deep blue sea, there’s a blue, as blue as me…”), and you have another very special track. Track 8, The Ledge, is one of my favourites with its dark guitar tones and a lyric that leaves little to the imagination (“What makes you think you’re the only one, to love and lose, and lose.”).

The bluegrass flavour of My Sweetheart is nothing short of compelling with its threatening monotone piano notes, and deathly plucked guitar. This is a thing of wonder and of all the great tracks here takes my accolade for the best of the best.

If there is such a thing as a classic country and western album, this has to be it. But she also injects something new and exciting into the genre without (cleverly) wandering too far from the script. Production by Lorne Entress brings out the very best of McKenna and her music. Ultimately, this is an album that all lovers of the genre should own, put simply, it’s essential.

5/5