Lafser brings us a classic road trip album ‘Raised on the Plains’
Raised on the Plains (set for release this April) is the kind of country-folk album that you must have in the collection. Lafser’s voice is classic country with the right hint of twang and pathos capturing that quintessential sound.
Her songs create the kind of longing for love and discovery that you expect from classic country fair, however it’s stooped in a richness of blues and folk storytelling.
Introducing us to Lafser’s style is the funky “Jack Hat Blues” it’s folk and blues full of energy and tight instrumentals. Slowing us right down is the following track “When It Comes To Loving You”, where Lafser’s story telling ability is put into the forefront.
“The Chores Song” is an atypical folk song where we hear a simple story interplayed with guitar plucking and instrumentals perfectly. “Gone, Gone, Gone” is slow, soft and creates the feeling of instantly being transported to a porch, rocking chair, all as we watch the sun setting on the plains.
For me there is something to “Mountain Air” that unconventionally spoke to me as the stand out track to this album. Perhaps it was the lyrics equally paired with the guitar and Lefser’s twang in this folk ballad that drew me in.
It is clear when listening to this album that the inspiration is Lefser’s road travels in the Southwest. Like a car travelling for endless miles with nothingness of the highways and open plains to desert punctuated with what only a cross-country road trip can offer – signs, small towns and wildlife.
There is a clear link here in the album as we are introduced to Lefser’s conversational lyrics and melodic lines intersected with the instrumentals, featuring some of Nashville’s favorite session players – Jeremy Fetzer (Steelism, Andrew Combs), Evan Hutchings (Brandi Carlile, Sara Watkins, Escondido), Justin Moses (Ricky Skaggs, Sierra Hull), and more – as well as special guests Will Kimbrough and SHEL – these musical interludes act as the road markers on this classic journey being Raised on the Plains.