A third album of powerful, simmering, lyrically vivid, stripped-back folk, country and Americana by the singer-songwriter from Hickman, Kentucky, portraying stories and characters from a small town, with themes about the importance of and cycles of the natural world, and summoning a sound somewhere between Lucinda Williams and Cat Power. Her voice is a little lower in pitch than previously releases, with a grainy, fine whisky of resonant, charisma, sometimes emotional and crackly, performing songs that stir all sorts of emotions and tales of hardships, love, loss, reconciliation, and the ancient practice of, as in the the title, Planting By The Signs, meaning the timing of planting a garden, or weaning a baby, or getting a haircut are best timed in accordance with the cycle of the moon. Earthy and ethereal, tough and tender, there’s many beautiful moment across these tracks, from the sparse opener Satellite, particularly Fire Sign, with the arresting opening lines: “Well, I'm just trying to build a good life / Nailing down shingles in the right sign / No curling in the daylight / … Oh, who's been living like the sun don't shine / On the same dog's ass every day.” I Can See The Devil has a striking, shimmering, bluesy country swagger, and Snapping Turtle, inspiring the cover art, describes, a movingly vivid small town scene in which the narrator discovers a bunch of kids hitting one of these creatures with a stick, and then sets about beating with the same stick as punishment: “I brought down the wrath of God himself.” Michael Told Me, Solitaire and I’m In Love are all gentle, poignant stories, and the next, Nature’s Child features backing vocals from Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. There’s also a reconciliation with old friend Matthew Rowan, who co-produces and joins her on the title track with stargazing scenes. The slow but strong last track Heaven Song refers to the death of her beloved dog in 2023, the same year she lost Harmon, a father figure and mentor. But out of tragedy there is compassion and empathy with this moving vivid tale of a hitchhiker, love, death, religion and transcendence. A profound and beautiful work. Out on Slough Water Records/ Thirty Tigers.
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