Namoli Brennet – Singer Shine Your Light
A tireless troubadour, Namoli Brennet has criss-crossed the country’s coffeehouse circuit through five albums of original material. No doubt she’s surprised a few of the regulars on that route; she’s not your average, self-absorbed folkie. In fact, she’s as apt to swing out a rockin’, soulful keyboard as a cozy, sweet-sounding guitar, and her lyrics can be as harsh or witty as they are brooding or insightful. “California”, a pre-destination ode to its falling into the sea, lopes and swoons like a lost Pure Prairie League track. Contrastingly serious and sad is “Border Crossing”, an empathetic ballad that closes the gap between “us” and “them.” There’s a smoother, quieter continuity to this album than in her previous releases, and while Brennet’s penchant for gender-bending has often attracted outsized attention for its frankness, it takes a back seat here to almost gender-neutral portraits of humanity, lit deftly by her melodic dexterity.