The Bootlegger's Daughter

Rachel Harrington’s 2007 debut, The Bootlegger’s Daughter, is a warm and summery album of bluegrass-trimmed Americana. Although the crisp and upfront production resonates with a relevant presence, Harrington’s knack for timeless songwriting proves to be the album’s most impressive element. “Sunshine Girl” opens with a memorable melody that gently waltzes around mandolin, guitar, fiddle, and Harrington’s voice, which is plaintive and pristine at once. The tune plays with such a classic feel that comparisons to The Carter Family’s songwriting style wouldn’t be a stretch. Conversely, “Shoeless Joe” is a breezy country-rock number that follows with more straightforward rhythms, watery pedal steel notes, and Harrington singing with a vulnerable performance that recalls a young Emmylou Harris. “Blow–The Ballad of Bill Miner” is a railroad tune that returns Harrington to that old wooden-radio style, with stalwart banjo picking under shuffled snare drum rhythms and accompanying male baritone harmonies. Her cover of Laura Veirs’ “Up the River” delivers a spooky serenade that’s hard to shake.