It took a long time for
Cam
to get to
The Otherside
. Five years, to be precise, a half-decade where she endeavored to navigate the distance separating mainstream country and pop, switching record companies in the process.
doesn't necessarily bear the scars of these struggles, which is for the best:
has a bigger picture in mind, namely finding a delicate balance between classic pop/rock and contemporary country. This time around, she's drifting toward the former, building upon the sturdy melodicism of "Burning House."
will occasionally drift into country conceits, such as the cutesy retro fetishism of "Classic," a catchy number which may just be a shade too clever for its own good. Generally, she avoids these trappings along with many contemporary production trends. There's certainly a modern patina to
-- the intricately arrangements are underpinned by electronic instruments, not to mention that the rhythms occasionally bear a mild R&B undercurrent -- but the album is firmly grounded in the aesthetic of 1970s soft rock, especially the parts pioneered by
Fleetwood Mac
. The result doesn't feel retro so much as somewhat out of time, a sturdy adult-alternative pop record whose charms fall somewhere between the past and present, not to mention somewhere between country and pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine