Brennan Wedl

To get the obvious comparison out there: Brennan Wedl sounds like Lucinda Williams. Not the weathered drawl of the later records, but Lucinda circa her own self-titled album in 1988, before the rasp thickened. Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) and Brad Cook produce, building guitar-heavy, nearly punk alt-country underneath; Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail plays electric guitar on two tracks and Crutchfield takes some harmonies.

So the voice matches, and the genre very nearly does. The lyrics, too: the same split between plain speech and something more literary. “Fake Cowboy” is a straight account of a man met in a bar. “Let’s Be Models” points out that a good night out needn’t cost anything. The closer, “When The Crazy Comes Out”, cuts back to acoustic guitar and puts questions to a partner: “If I get knocked up I’ll have your baby / Will you still want me when the crazy comes out?“

This album’s been my obsession for the last week or so. A cursory glance this morning didn’t surface many reviews online; if there’s anything right with the world then people will catch up and this album will give Wedl the attention and acclaim she so richly deserves.