Tin Star by Lindi Ortega
Lindi Ortega hails from Toronto, Canada and is a fast-rising star on the modern country scene. Tin Star is the third album from this songbird, who now calls Nashville home. Ortega has a powerful voice. It’s one that’s equally at home with full-on, up-tempo country rockers like the opening track, ‘Hard as This’, as it is with melt-your-heart, soulful numbers like ‘Tin Star’. She has been compared to Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Johnny Cash, but to my ears, some of these songs cover similar ground to the very early country rock of k.d. lang. Virtually all the songs here are written by Ortega and she has a great ear for melody and memorable tunes, whether fast or slow. The lyrics sound biographical and deal mostly with heartbreak and life on the road as a musician
Unlike a lot of modern country albums, Tin Star is really well paced and never descends into weepy excess: Ortega has the ability to really rock out and lift the gloom very quickly. If you enjoy singer–songwriters like Eilen Jewell who mix up a variety of styles to create their own brand of modern country music, this is worth a listen.
