Thorn In My Heart (180g Double LP + CD)

Thorn in My Heart possesses country music's spirit at heart, but it's not exactly a country record. Produced elegantly and sparsely by Neilson Hubbard, it is a brave, confident collection that is irredeemably melancholy. In order to pull this off, a songwriter needs to possess the twin gifts of lyric and musical understatement. Richey doesn't disappoint. Her characters are honest, vulnerable, wary, and confused; their disappointment never bitter; their optimism never totally vanquished when things don't turn out properly. They are lovers hopeful, wary, and wronged (but never commitment-shy), family members, and those who want to flee from dead dreams and bad relationships. Richey's characters on Thorn in My Heart inspire strong empathetic ties with listeners via simple, beautiful melodies and lyrical accuracy by turns poetic and accessible. It is yet another in a string of excellent releases by her, but it's also something more. It integrates everywhere Richey's been yet inhabits a terrain completely of her own design.