Hourglass

Long live sophomore albums that don't suck! After making a nice impression with her debut album and a handful of EPs over the past few years, Emily Hearn proves that her artistic trajectory is on the upswing with Hourglass. Not content to simply rest on her laurels, she expands her musical palette considerably on this record and ventures from the country-tinged folk wheelhouse. “The Oak Tree” is tasty country pop filtered through atmospheric rock; “Thank God You're Holding Me” proves she has a knack for gospel; and the winsome “Save Me” is a delightful eargasm of 1980s-style pop. And then there's her foray into ambient folk on “Long Summer,” her most subdued-yet-soulful performance on the album, providing a truly spine-tingling experience. Hearn's skills as a lyricist are also on full display throughout, whether using a natural disaster as a metaphor for relationship problems (“Volcano”) or empowering a woman who deserves better than what she's been getting with her partner (“Annie”). At times deeply introspective, at others wildly imaginative and carefree, Hourglass is exquisite, and Hearn might be one of my new favorite singer-songwriters.