Ella Hooper

There are bar room stompers, spectral ballads with a contemporary edge, and hooks sharp enough to draw blood. Ella's songwriting has long been celebrated in her home country, but what shines more clearly than ever before on this new set is Hooper's voice. Big, bold, unguarded - still elastic but now with a lived-in truth. Ella has clearly clocked the hours that makes singing her songs as natural as breathing air, cackling with laughter, shedding a tear.   

Playing like a "best of Ella so far," the album combines rock, folk and country-leaning storytelling – in one cohesive, twang-laced ride. Call it Americana, call it alt-country, call it what you like. Hooper puts it this way: "Can you really 'go country' if you're from the country in the first place?