Anthem [Red Vinyl/Blue Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

Having already transitioned from traditional acoustic jazz and blues to her own eclectic folk- and pop-leaning originals on past albums, once again embraces the latter on 2018's . Named after the song that she covers with emotive precision here, finds the former busker turned chanteuse collaborating with a team of highly regard musicians, arrangers, and songwriters including longtime producer and multi-instrumentalist , guitarist and primary lyricist , organist , and drummer . Also joining in at various times are guitarist , saxophonist , drummer , and vocalist (who does not sing but instead adds subtle percussion accents), and others. Although capable of tackling standards and traditional songs with a sophisticated lyricism, is, at her core, a bohemian storyteller, a folksinger in the vein of and . While some listeners may prefer her more acoustic, jazz-oriented albums, many of her songs on achieve a similar level of nuance and sophistication. This is especially true on the -esque "All My Heroes," in which she ruminates on discovering the imperfection of one's idols. She sings "All my heroes were failures in their eyes/Losers, drunkards, fallen saints, and suicides." Similarly engaging is "The Brand New Deal," in which she croons with wry cynicism about modern capitalist culture against a breezy, -sounding fusion groove. There's also a knowingly cheeky -- even kitschy -- quality to some of the tracks, as on the twangy, baritone guitar-led Latin lounge number "Honey Party." She also takes a similarly cheeky approach on the buoyant "On a Sunday Afternoon," in which she expounds upon the medicinal freedoms of the weekend, singing "Oh yeah, its a Sunday afternoon/Got Cap'n Crunch, and reefer, and old cartoons." There are also several dusky, literate moments -- including the languidly hopeful "We Might as Well Dance" -- that, as with much of , seem to speak to 's particularly Zen view of the world. ~ Matt Collar