Lera Lynn
gradually left the exquisitely sculpted moodiness of her 2016 breakthrough
Resistor
behind, incorporating light and warmth on such subsequent records as
On My Own
. Some of this shift could be credited to her collaboration with
Todd Lombardo
, a multi-instrumentalist who entered
Lynn
's orbit on
Plays Well with Others
, a record released the same year as
Kacey Musgraves
' era-defining
Golden Hour
, which also featured
Lombardo
. While
's 2022 album
Something More Than Love
doesn't precisely sound like
Musgraves
, its bright, shape-shifting surfaces belong to the same genre-bending spectrum as
. That alone marks a monumental shift from the burnished, interior perspective of
, but the openheartedness of
is underscored by how much the record was inspired by
giving birth to a child fathered by
. Much of the album reckons with the emotional shockwaves that follow being a new parent, feelings that are often warm even if they're occasionally conflicted. It's here that it's possible to chart the journey
has been on since
. Where she used to dwell in the shadows, on
she's basking in daylight. Within that brightness, she finds plenty of different textures and sounds, creating music that's every bit as atmospheric as her earlier records but carrying an appealingly lighter vibe. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine