Nice return after 9 years!!! If sound parallels to Alison Kraus's pop side, JE decidedly edgier. An interesting balance between trad. country/folk and pop elements. Still heartfelt moments, often clever songwriting with imagery that is one minute brooding/touching, the next acidly satirical: all couched within her sweet high voice. The most 'country' song (well to me!) here ironically is an indictment of Nashville (or about scrounging there), 'Tired of This Town.' 'Karma Jane' is a catchy, offbeat portrait of a kleptomaniac; 'Dead Slow' has nice soft rock vibe and lyrics that put off/down a would be suitor, yet keep possibilities open-- later :). 'Nature Boy' (not the jazz standard) seems pretty, but is really about obsession and the edge of breakdown: 'Dangerous to be in your own skin/Tearing out your hair over the storm that's blowing in. . .Can't tame nature, boy.' Or urban imagery/despair and word twists on 'Load of Blues': 'I hang my blues to dry above the dirty street/They drip down onto the alley, where the kids and dealers meet')-- and effective hooky arrangements. Really these songs have a lot of layers once you delve. I like her other albums too-- this one steps beyond a typical 'country/bluegrass/acoustic' framework, and is no less beguiling IMO.