Consumer Guide Album

Amanda Shires: Nobody's Girl [ATO, 2025]
It's the rare female country star who's more ingenue than belter—Kacey Musgraves and Megan Moroney come to mind but not many others. And it's the rarer country singer of any gender who can reel off lyrics of this quality. Her tempos moderate, her pitch elevated, her enunciation crystalline, Jason Isbell's ex is an exception so impressive you can only hope they didn't split up because she can write rings around him that don't wind up on his finger. "The streetlights and stars/They bring up old scars/In the backseat of a car/Wondering how you are/Under the streetlights and stars." "Starship hovered and love left my third eye strained." "You can't hold your breath for the rest of your life." "I stopped feeling anything/No guilt, no remorse, no shame/Didn't breathe any easier with the feelings out of the way." "You think it's tough now to swallow/Wait till it scrapes against your throat." "I hope you finally find/Your missing piece of mind." "How'm I doing? I don't know/Just sitting here listening to Billy Joel." Convinced yet? A