Home
Reckless
Barnes and Noble
Reckless
Current price: $19.99
Barnes and Noble
Reckless
Current price: $19.99
Size: OS
Loading Inventory...
*Product information may vary - to confirm product availability, pricing, shipping and return information please contact Barnes and Noble
isn't exactly an accurate title for
's first album for
, the classy home for old Nashville pros constructed by
's
. As
's first full-fledged country album since 2011's
,
proceeds carefully, conscious of the constraints of commercial country radio and her role as a veteran. All through the album there are slight, subtle hints of the modern world -- a passing lyrical reference tempered by crisp digital production or sequenced rhythms -- but its sensibilities belong to the mainstream country of the '90s, a place where country co-habitated with arena rock and adult contemporary. The latter carries a prominent role on
, for this album -- co-produced by
and
-- is quite consciously an adult effort, a record that embraces maturation in its melody and sensibilities. Sometimes, this does mean that the album winds up getting a little mellow, drifting down supple back ways where the only intent appears to a pleasant placidity, but this softness is salvaged by how the music breathes: for as smooth as the surface is, there is a palpable human heart beating underneath the gloss.
winds up feeling of a piece, a record where the individual songs don't matter as much -- they'd stand out on the radio but feel interconnected here -- as the mood itself. It's an album that showcases a
who is embracing her middle age, who finds sustenance in her musical roots but resists succumbing to easy nostalgia. It's warm, classy, and relaxed, music designed to comfort and sustain. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine