01Rookie Dreaming 3:27

Courtney Marie Andrews, 'Rookie Dreaming'

from Honest Life

Somehow, between being born in Arizona in 1990 and moving to Washington in 2011, singer, songwriter and guitarist Courtney Marie Andrews seems to have spent time in early-'70s Laurel Canyon. Her new, self-produced album Honest Life is evidence; while she keeps company with some wonderful contemporary artists, Andrews channels classic icons beautifully. The throwback-folk perfection of the opening track, "Rookie Dreaming," is typical of the entire collection. With an unhurried lyrical cadence set against a sparse sonic backdrop, Andrews sets the scene of what has been: "I was a 1960s movie / I was a one-night love story / I was a 'You will never see me again.'" Here, the singer gazes into a pool of self-reflection, looking earnestly for reckoning and redemption. Three minutes later, shuffling drums and stacked vocals have come and gone as she flips the script to what she's become: "I am a 1960s movie / I am an unwritten story / I am a 'When will I see you again?'" Musing her way through the evolution, she emerges with new-found maturity as she confesses the transgressions behind her: "I was too broke, too shallow to dive deep / Too busy carrying the weight of everything."

—Kelly McCartney, Folk Alley