Reckless Skyline

If you discover one new singer-songwriter this year, it needs to be Caitlin Canty and her to-die-for latest, Reckless Skyline. On this, her third solo release, Canty creates an exquisite Americana-rock album—in the vein of Amos Lee's recent Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, on which the notion of “Americana” isn't encapsulated by a sonic genre tag, but rather an examination of the ups and downs of the blue-collar set. Similarly, Reckless Skyline features tales of struggle and survival (“Enough About Hard Times”) and finding ways to keep going when there seems to be no reason left to do so (“Get Up”). Canty's soulful vocals are simultaneously rich and slightly raspy, recalling Brandi Carlile, and the way she sings about finding love on the country-tinged “Southern Man” is breathtaking. Though the album is loaded with stellar tracks, the mesmerizing “My Love for You Will Not Fade” takes the cake. The low-tempo song boils with tense emotion as Canty's weary-yet-resolved voice sings, “The ink aches for the page/The water wants to be a river/My love for you will not fade,” to show how much she needs her lover despite all odds. A beautifully gritty record.