Folky, twangy pop, all songs written by Exene. Diva, former vocalist for seminal LA band X from the late 70’s, continues her evolution from punkabilly through folk, bluegrass, rockabilly, country into a decidedly more pop vein on this collection. Unlike most, Excene’s voice only gets better with age, no longer relying on dissonant off key trademarks and instead keeping in key. Songs are arranged, strings, brass, heavy at times, every song about love/heartbreak (why of course!). Tracks kick off in the pop realm and evolve steadily into twangy territory. Lovely, Exene’s best material to date, check it out, fans of Gram Parsons, Dwight Yoakam, Burt Bacharrach, Eleni Mandell, Emmy Lou Harris.

1) pleasant and pleasing: “already in love”, pretty, accessible and sweet, brass lends a Burt Bacharrach classic pop feel
2) pretty pop, a slight minor tone betrays the overall upbeat feel
3) epic forlorn pop, almost a 70’s feel, string arrangements and big production
4) country twang with the guitars, upbeat and swing
5) cha cha Spanish flare, minor, forelorn
6) upbeat, pop country’ish for sure
7) lovely piano, very standard feeling like gram parsons or someone other stalwart songwriter, perfection
8) bluegrass seeps in with fiddle, upbeat and pleasant 9) upbeat country, fun lyrics
10) ubeat, the brass returns
11) more plodding, darker but upbeat, bookend