Love & CircumstanceCARRIE RODRIGUEZ

Love & Circumstance

[Ninth Street Opus]

On her third solo release, fiddler Carrie Rodriguez covers a collection of influential songs with the ease and finesse of someone far older than her 31 years. Pedal steel ace Greg Leisz anchors the understated folk-country arrangements, while the harmony vocals of Aoife O’Donovan and Buddy Miller (the latter on Merle Haggard’s “I Started Loving You Again”) add depth to Rodriguez’s own smoky alto. She takes the notion of “roots music” a step further than most, including father David Rodriguez’s “When I Heard Gypsy Davy Sing” and closing with a stunning take on “La Puñalada Trapera,” a ballad recorded five decades ago by great-aunt Eva Garza and a staple of Rodriguez’s live performances. Taken as a whole, the album is a slow burn reminiscent of Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball. Though it lacks her songwriting stamp, Love & Circumstance is nonetheless the best showcase of Carrie Rodriguez’s talent to date.

–Juli Thanki

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