Leslie Stevens & The Badgers - Roomful of Smoke

We're going to overlook the fact that there's an actual horse in her band publicity photo above. We'll even let her pass on choosing The Badgers as the name of her band. 'Cause when it comes to laying down a sweet-as-honey Laurel Canyon country/pop song, L.A.'s Leslie Stevens redeems herself and then some on her third album Roomful of Smoke, released independently last year and now getting an expanded national roll-out August 17 via Thirty Tigers. Stevens and band ply what a bandmate calls "bourgeous country", a balancing act of traditional, pedal-steeled honky-tonk country and the more modern SoCal styled folk/rock dressed down in leather-fringed Americana.

Produced by David Bianco (Bob Dylan, Tift Merritt), Roomful of Smoke wisely highlights Stevens' delicate, often melancholy-laced voice, bringing to mind names such as Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and even a dash of Dolly Parton. If the "tear-in-your-beer" wistful sadness of songs such as the mournful "Winter Fugue" or starkly plaintive folk of "Los Angeles" doesn't melt your resistance, you may find yourself unwittingly tapping a toe to the breezy "Shoulder to Cry On" or satiny shuffle "Old Timers". Indie hipsters can even let their guard down if they make the stylistic segue from the twangier side of Neko Case, Jenny Lewis and Ryan Adams. Recommended.

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Leslie Stevens & The Badgers - "Los Angeles" (from the album Roomful of Smoke)

Leslie Stevens & The Badgers - "Old Timers" (from the album Roomful of Smoke)

New song "Sinner" performed solo: