Laura Cantrell Cerulean Salt

Amazon.com

Laura Cantrell's voice has been compared to Kitty Wells and her songwriting has been compared to While those influences--plus come across on her full-length debut, Cantrell sounds more like the urbane Nashville-raised, Brooklyn-living modern country traditionalist that she is. A devout fan and a knowledgeable one at that--she's the long-time host of legendary N.Y.C.-area radio station WFMU's Saturday-afternoon Radio Thrift Shop and has written liner notes for Tammy Wynette albums--Cantrell brings her experience and connections with her into the studio, rounding up a host of ace New York indie musicians. Cantrell's voice is a tender instrument, all the more touching for the moments, as on the title song, where it strains to insist that no, its owner will not break. Randy Silver