Just Like A Rose: The Anniversary Sessions

Laura Cantrell is one of the finest singer/songwriters to emerge from the Americana scene from the days when people were still trying to figure out what alt-country meant. Cantrell is remarkably talented, with a gorgeous voice and a sweetly defiant lyrical outlook, but she isnt especially careerist -- shes never walked away from her lucrative day job in finance, and she considers her responsibilities as a parent more important than playing dive bars across the country. 2023s Just Like a Rose: The Anniversary Sessions is the sixth studio album Cantrell has released since she launched her recording career with the superb Not the Tremblin Kind in 2000, and it comes nine years after 2014s No Way There from Here. Some artists who take that long a break between recording projects would strive to make each one seem like an event, but thats not Cantrells style -- Just Like a Rose sounds like it could have come two or three years after No Way There from Here, and thats a compliment. Cantrell has the gift of being able to pick up where she left off without sounding as if she needs to struggle to get back up to speed, and Just Like a Rose (originally meant to mark the 20th anniversary of Not the Tremblin Kind before the COVID-19 pandemic upended her schedule) is a simple but deeply satisfying summary of what she does so well. It speaks to Cantrells love of her peers that the title track is an homage to her longtime friend Rosie Flores, and that Cantrell invited Flores to produce and play guitar on the track; the songs sassy celebration of an empowered woman with a twangy Telecaster is a gem on an album that has more than its share. "Push the Swing" is a swinging folk-rock number about a relationship struggling to get into gear, "Unaccompanied" is a joyous remembrance of being young and enjoying the thrill of the night, "Im Gonna Miss This Town" is an evocative look at the decay of a small town thats witty and sad in equal measure, and "Good Morning, Mr. Afternoon" has a vintage jazz feel that works beautifully. "AWM – Bless" is a rarity from Cantrell, an explicitly political number dealing with the fallout of toxic masculinity thats also witty and makes brilliant use of that great passive-aggressive Southern insult, "Bless Your Heart." The only track that doesnt entirely work is Cantrells duet with Steve Earle on "When the Roses Bloom Again," with the gritty rasp of Earles voice just a bit too much of a contrast to the unpretentious elegance of Cantrells instrument, though hes clearly happy to be helping out a friend. Theres something deceptively simple about Laura Cantrells music that makes her brilliance seem easy, but the craft and smarts that went into Just Like a Rose come from someone with both talent and drive, and however long it takes her to make an album, the results are worth the wait. ~ Mark Deming