Mindy Smith Stupid Love (Vanguard) Released August 2009 Reviewed by Andrew Greer

Style: Alt-Country, Folk, Americana; compare to Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin, and Ray Lamontagne

Top tracks: "What Went Wrong," "If I Didn't Know Any Better," "Telescope"

In a nutshell: Ever since Mindy Smith captured the ears of music lovers with her sacred folk song, "Come to Jesus," in 2004, the introspective singer has sweetly held country and folk listeners in the palm of her hands. A songwriter in the truest sense of the word, Smith's lilting Americana combs the deepest parts of human living, making her painful strains universally relatable. Stupid Love adds to her lonely catalog, but this time with added musical lift. Colorful percussion, vintage electric guitars, and other subtle surprises prove Smith is more than another melancholic songbird. Though her sad song is surely the prettiest of them all.

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