Brennen Leigh Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet (LP)

(Signature Sounds) 12 tracks.

Full-throttle fiddle, weepy steel guitar, heavenly backing vocals and anchored by her warm, expressive vocals, Brennen Leigh's latest album is a soulful revelation. "Ain't Through Honky Tonkin' Yet" is rooted in classic country and is an unadulterated tear-soaked tribute to an era when hard-hitting country songs rang out from AM transistor radios.

"I'm in love with this idea of the real Nashville," Leigh says. "The idyllic golden age that for me was around 1967, 1968, because of the alchemy, the explosion that took place, with the best country music songwriters and the best singers in country music." The album's country roots run deep, with guests Marty Stuart and Rodney Crowell and an array of top-notch musicians, but each track rises with abandon.

With thoughtful, incisive lyrics and lively melodies, Leigh has successfully created a modern gem that honors the golden era of country music.

"I've been obsessed with Western Swing since I was a kid, and it's always influenced me, but my but my records in the past have ranged from bluegrass to hard country to folk, so I've never focused exclusively on that," says Fargo-born, Austin-raised, Nashville-based Brennen Leigh, whose new collaboration with the kings of modern Western Swing, Asleep at the Wheel, Obsessed With The West is a showpiece for more than just Bob Wills fans.