LIGHT COUNTRY POP

Mindy Smith is a singer/songwriter/guitarist, in the same category perhaps as Shawn Colvin. Her voice is a bit too “girlish” and not quite convincing emotionally, but she’s got a sweet tone and some volume. You have to give it a chance before deciding if you like it or not. This is Smith’s fifth album: moody themes are love, loss, sorrow, faith, etc. Lyrics are lightweight. Instrumentation is standard guitar, bass, drums.

No FCC issues.

1 Mid-tempo. Feel good (“I’m doing ok”) anthem. Giant hook of a chorus. Average. (3:36)
2 Mid-slow 3/4 waltz. Big, pretty vocal, but just too darn sweet. (3:37)
3 * Mid-tempo. Stepping out and having fun. Male vocal harmony. Solid band. (3:20)
4 Very slow. She’s drunk, lonely, and blue; but her voice can’t sell this. Rather hear Lucinda Williams do this. (4:12)
5 ** Mid-tempo. A bit of Western Swing. Fun lyrics; fun song. Nicely done! (2:59)
6 Slow. Cloying, syrupy “go gentle into that good night” for Mom. Yuck! (2:47)
7 * Mid-tempo. Good girl being bad. Better job selling a dark theme. A for effort. (3:16)
8 Very slow ballad about a bad marriage. Sad, broken hearted. (3:37)
9 * Slow. Slightly blue, slightly jazzy forlorn love song. Kinda cute, but it works. (3:11)
10 Mid-slow. Been done wrong by a man. Very country; very cheesy. (3:08)
11 Slow, sad ballad. Meh, just ok. Gently accompanied by acoustic & steel guitar. (4:58)