SOUND JUDGEMENT

The latest album releases reviewed

DEEPER WELL HHHHI

Kacey Musgraves is no stranger to drama and her fifth studio album, Deeper Well, shows how this 34-year-old Texan is rising above it all. Deeper Well completes her transformation from country music darling to folk-pop songstress and is an album of a woman grown up, who has walked through fire and has lived to tell the tale. She has experienced both love and loss and has learned to love again. Deeper Well offers up 14 tracks of rainy-day singer-songwriter goodness with, at times, slight touches of bluesy-folk a la Norah Jones.

It will be exciting to see where she goes next. Don’t let this one slip by.

WORK IN PROGRESS (EP) Holly Humberstone HHHII

Just five months after the release of her debut album, singersongwriter Holly Humberstone is back with a follow-up EP.

The record contains opening track and single Dive, title track Work In Progress, the upbeat Down Swinging and the acoustic Easy Tiger.

The silky chorus of Dive highlights Humberstone’s angelic voice but it’s Down Swinging that stands out from the others with its increased tempo and sense of fighting talk. Easy Tiger is a beautiful composition, aided by the stripped-back instrumentation. Humberstone’s gentle vocals continue in what is hopefully is a stop gap between albums.

STILL LEARNING (MIXTAPE) Caity Baser HHHII

Caity Baser unleashes her first full-length release and it’s full of energetic pop songs but let down by chaotic production, overpowering vocals and childish lyrics.

She has said that she doesn’t care about public opinion but the effort to present this attitude comes on a little strong. With topics such as pretty boys and polygamy, with overly explicit lyrics, the tracks feel more like high-school experiences than those of a 21-year-old musician. But with better production and a more adult approach, her debut album could be in the pipeline.