Lauren Shera
Gold & Rust (DigSin)
Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, Fri., April 17, 2015
Lauren Shera
Gold & Rust (DigSin)Originally from northern California and currently calling Nashville home, Lauren Shera's third disc recalls the West Coast rather than Tennessee. Despite its Laurel Canyon comforts – jangling strings and sunny melodies – she calls it a goodbye to the Golden State. Even so, Shera stands out from a nation of women singer-songwriters working today. The torrid "Hell's Bells" and baroque orchestral setting of "Sweetgrass" combine delicate emotions with an ethereal grace. A duet with Matthew Hegarty of English folk-popsters Matthew & the Atlas, "Stepheny and Agbar," finds Shera expanding into storytelling beyond the love and loss subject matter she's most comfortable expressing. The results: All Gold & no Rust. (Sat., 1:30pm, Bluebonnet stage)
