Southern Star

A student of classical harp who first found a significant audience with her online harp covers of pop music, Mikaela Davis introduced her own original songs on a series of EPs before making her Rounder Records debut with Delivery (2018), an eclectic full-length spanning rootsy, psychedelic, adult alternative, and chamber pop recorded with her touring band. She returns that lineup and adds a dedicated steel guitarist (Kurt Johnson) and additional guitarist to her band for the follow-up, the more country-rock-leaning Southern Star, her debut for the Kill Rock Stars label. A collaborative affair, it was produced by Davis and her ensemble. She starts things off with the midtempo, longing "Cinderella," a song whose wispy twang, echoing steel guitar sustain, and minor-key guitar countermelodies help underscore its tales of wallflowers, ill-advised romantic loyalties, and a Cinderella who "seems to have the blues." Davis quickly picks up the tempo for the livelier "Home in the Country," a twang-suffused ditty with double-tracked vocals that settles into the albums more prevalent improvisational band feel, including instrumental solos and conspicuous rhythm harp accompaniment. However, Southern Star still holds some surprises, such as the 70s album rock-oriented timbres of tuneful standout "Promise," and "Saturday Morning," whose floating, reverb-heavy atmospheres still rely on harp and steel guitar but approximate dream pop balladry more than country fare. Also on board is the harder-rocking "Dont Stop Now," which allows for dirtier guitar tones and the occasional cymbal splash before the nearly eight-minute "Leave It Alone" closes the set back on a jammy country-rock; in fact, the last six minutes of the song (and album) consists of solo-trading instrumental improvision. Although these long-form tendencies may not come as a surprise to dedicated fans -- Davis spent part of 2023, the year of the albums release, at a series of residencies, at least one of which was half populated by Grateful Dead covers -- on average, Southern Star lands in a transitional, adult pop-friendly middle ground. That said, the collaborative spirit here suits Davis well, and time will tell which stylistic path -- or paths -- her future work will follow. ~ Marcy Donelson