Katy Moffatt – Loose Diamond

An entire album of love-gone-south tunes could be bleak, but Katy Moffatt glitters as she peers into the endless facets of heartbreak. And, like a fine diamond, the album owes its depth and polish to both the natural allure of Moffatt’s voice and the art of producer and ex-Blaster Dave Alvin.

Moffatt’s latest outing favors the country side of her country-folk style, from the steel-laced shuffle of “I Walk Alone” to the bluesy honky-tonk of Hank Williams Jr.’s “Stoned At The Jukebox”. Subdued country piano echoes each shift in emotion when old lovers meet in “Here We Go Again”, the singer’s jolt of anticipation fading to resignation that grief again lies just around the corner.

Moffatt’s voice floats through the reverie of “Burning Memories” and then abruptly harshens and thickens on “The Cuckoo”, with Moffatt and Alvin swapping harmony in a cramped, menacing interpretation of the traditional folk tune spiked by bluegrass accents. Spacious production showcases Moffatt’s subtlety and pacing on the Jo Carol Pierce-penned title track, her aching tremolo limning the aftermath of an affair that has swept all else away.

Sonny Throckmorton’s “Waitin’ For The Sun To Shine” closes out the album, the dark, repetitive drumroll and bass line lightened by Alvin’s reverberating lead guitar while Moffatt, nailing the song’s essence, drifts between the poles of despair and hope.