The follow-up to the singer/songwriter and virtuosic instrumentalist's 2019 full-length debut,
When You're Ready
,
...But I'd Rather Be with You
sees
Molly Tuttle
deliver a collection of cover songs that showcases both her chops and her eclectic tastes. Produced by
Tony Berg
(
Phoebe Bridgers
Andrew Bird
), who places
Tuttle
's expressive voice front and center, the ten-song set is bright and engaging, which is all the more impressive considering it was constructed piecemeal with
recording all of her parts at home in Nashville and
Berg
applying contributions from L.A. session musicians, including
Matt Chamberlain
and
Patrick Warren
. Commencing with a stirring rendition of
the National
's "Fake Empire,"
quickly switches gears and gives
the Rolling Stones
' psych-pop classic "She's a Rainbow" a folk-pop makeover, with her deft fingerpicking transforming the song's jaunty piano lines into intricate
Doc Watson
-worthy runs. She imbues
Arthur Russell
's pained "A Little Lost" with warmth and a playful gait and treats
Harry Styles
' "Sunflower, Vol. 6" like it should have appeared on
Taylor Swift
's
Folklore
. Elsewhere,
FKA twigs
' "Mirrored Heart" becomes a high and lonesome country-folk lament, as does an aching rendition of the
Grateful Dead
's "Standing on the Moon," the latter of which is helped along by an empathetic harmony vocal from
Dawes
frontman
Taylor Goldsmith
. Aptly named,
's emotional throughline is loneliness, and
does the feeling justice on a faithful rendition of
Cat Stevens
' "How Can I Tell You," which brings affairs to a close with subtle potency. ~ James Christopher Monger