Coming to us now from Nashville, and the studio of gifted producer Mike Severs, this small-town girl from northern Ohio elevates her lyrical artistry and turns a title song about a lost cat into an anthem of empathy and longing and love. DeChant, fresh off a number one record on the folk music charts, has long been one of the great live performers on the Americana circuit, and for the second album in a row, she and Severs have captured much of that magic in the studio. But this record soars. Part of it is the music, a ukulele here, a dobro there, a gospel chorus, the pounding of a drum, all in the service of a poetic message inevitably both accessible and profound. DeChant is first and last a story-teller, an artist who writes with a shit-kicker urgency and sweet understanding of the people who stumble and keep keeping on. As we listen to songs about a transgender boy, a woman dealing with substance abuse, or any of us locked in a struggle with regret - all in the enigmatic shadow of God - we are reminded again, as we so often are by our finest artists, of the heights to which American music can aspire.