Tristan Prettyman - Cedar + Gold

With songs like "I Was Gonna Marry You", "Second Chance" and "The Rebound", Cedar + Gold (October 2, Capitol), the long overdue and emotionally charged third album from SoCal singer/songwriter Tristan Prettyman, plays out as something of a heartfelt -- and heartbreaking -- diary. “I started writing songs from a place that was so deep and honest, where I didn’t hold anything back,” she says. “It felt so good. I was like, ‘This is what music is about — being able to release what is trapped inside of you'." The catharsis at the center of her new songs comes on the heels of some dispiriting events that challenged both her personal life -- the "wreckage" of her relationship with fellow songwriter Jason Mraz -- and musical career with surgery to remove polyps from her vocal chords. Inspiration for great songs often comes from life's setbacks and despair but Cedar + Gold's ultimate message makes, says Prettyman, for "actually a very hopeful album." Lyrical story aside, the album, produced by Greg Wells (Adele, Jessie Baylin), also boasts swooning folk/pop melodies and Prettyman's signature warm and sandy vocals, elements that make songs like "Say Anything", "My Oh My" (video below) and "When You Come Down" as musically appealing as they are personally revealing.

Tristan Prettyman - "Say Anything" (from Cedar and Gold)

Tristan Prettyman - "When You Come Down" (from Cedar and Gold)