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Midnight
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Barnes and Noble
Midnight
Current price: $12.99
Barnes and Noble
Midnight
Current price: $12.99
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Leaving behind her longtime band
-- in name, at least; a fair number of the members show up here, including her drummer/husband
--
also leaves country in the dust on her second solo album,
. Teaming with Los Angeles-based producer
-- he's best known for heavier stuff like
(he even brought in
to sing some backup vocals here) but also has done work with progressive bluegrass band
dives headfirst into pure pop with
, creating a gleaming confection that, at its best, could be mistaken for late-'80s AOR. Such submersion in gloss is bound to alienate fans who've long favored her Americana authenticity but
bears the same considered construction as her four albums with
; the surface just happens to sparkle. At first, that sheen seems blinding: the neo-new wave synths grin along with glam stomps and disco allusions, guitars play to the rafters but are still overshadowed by vocal hooks halfway between
and
or perhaps informed by the urgent revivalism of
or even memories of early
.
isn't posturing here. She's embraced every cliche that comes with this retro album rock and that enthusiasm certainly gives
panache -- she's every bit as passionate here as she was on the rawer
-- but what gives the album resonance is how her clever songs keep
's supremely SoCal production from playing like aural candy. Both
delight in celebrating and inverting the cliches of overblown '80s AOR and that's what makes
such a fun trip. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine