Arizona

Arizona

Tracy Shedd arrives at the album she’d always hinted at since her 2001 solo debut, Blue. Her fifth album, 2013’s Arizona, is an all-acoustic affair, primarily between Shedd and husband James Tritten about their time living in Tucson, Ariz. A number of backing vocalists weave in and out of the mix, including The Rosebuds’ Ivan Howard, Naim Amor, Denison Witmer, and Tucson’s alt-music mainstay Howe Gelb of Giant Sand; Gelb also tinkles a piano for an excellent cover of Sonic Youth’s “Teenage Riot.” This intimate less-is-more approach recalls the majestic calm of Ida, Sun Kil Moon’s Mark Kozelek, and Neil Halstead’s Mojave 3. A cover of The Magnetic Fields’ “Candy” captures a joy that’s also present in originals such as “Broken Arrows” and “All the Little Things.” And just by adding a rhythmic pulse to the acoustic guitars, the desolate tone of “Sweet Talking,” “Sing to Me,” and “You’re No Fool” is delicately balanced. The diary-like entries weave an intimacy that transforms the album into a superlative work. The flute lurking in “Friday Night at Einstein’s” adds the perfect counterpoint to Shedd’s confessions.

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