Kim Richey - Rise

Anyone who can sound, vocally, like Sarah McLachlan on one song (say "Without You") and Lucinda Williams on another (say "Cowards in a Brave New World") deserves points for versatility at least; I suspect Richey's natural singing voice is closer to the sweetly scratchy purr that's at its most heightened on melancholy album opener "Girl in a Car". In fact, while Richey does reveal herself to be pretty musically versatile across the 13 country/adult-alternative tracks making up Rise, there's a lot more than that to like here - the songs are strong, and arranged and delivered in a way that's fresh and appealing while also possessing depth.