Believe

Katie Armiger, from Sugar Land, Texas was singing before she learned to walk. And shortly after entering her teenage years, she won a Houston radio station's Best Country Singer contest which landed her a demo deal with Nashville producer Mark Oliverius which led to her 2007 self-titled debut. Armiger's second album Believe opens with "Jealousy," a spicy little number that foregoes a subtle introduction to unleash a piping hot country rocker seared with a grinding Hammond organ, vintage guitars plugged into old tube-burning amps, barn-burning fiddles and other honky-tonkin' instrumentation that all help set the tone for a rootsy affair. The following ballad "Gone" is both moving and mellow. Armiger had a hand in writing every song here except for the somewhat over calculated "Unseen." And even there Armiger sings the hell out of it giving the hit some needed warmth. The up-tempo "Trail of Lies" is the most solid jam here — it grooves with a gusto and attitude you'd expect from Miranda Lambert or Gretchen Wilson.