Pull It Together

Seattle singer/songwriter and former Sufjan Stevens band member Shannon Stephens strips down her approach for her third solo album, where she evokes Joni Mitchell with the somber piano ballad "Cold November," featuring labelmate DM Stith on keys. Her duet with Will Oldham on "Faces Like Ours" hits at the heart of race, money, and justice in the American judicial system. Stephens keeps a small band in place, which helps her focus on the songs and their emotional centers. There's a sense of modern folk here, where restrained but distorted guitar adds a gritty edge to her angelic vocals. "Wax and Feathers," "Girl," and the six-and-a-half-minute "Down the Drain and It's Gone" are affecting moments where Stephens transcends the genre's usual limits; standard chords and time-proven progressions take new flight. "Buddy Up to the Bully" even throws a spring into Stephens' step with well-earned pop and country-blues moves.