Geronimo
Geronimo, the follow-up to Shannon McNally's intoxicating 2002 debut,Jukebox Sparrows, follows the same rootsy pop/R&B/folk/alt-country path, yet goes the distance to prove that the transplanted New Yorker, now living in New Orleans and soaking up the bayou blues, is more than just a Sheryl Crow/Bonnie Raitt clone. Her songwriting--deft, atmospheric, and loaded with memorable lines ("Listening for the sound of my last hope hitting the ground")--settles mainly on the searing emotional pain of romantic dissolution, yet always offers enough irony and universal touchstones (e.g., running into an old lover by chance) to win over even the most casual listener. She hits her stride on the title cut, which uses the sad, shameful defeat of the Native Americans as the subtheme to a well-fought battle of love. As on her debut, McNally rarely veers out of a mid-tempo groove, and producer Charlie Sexton, who keeps things spare but interesting (like steel drum accents on "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes"), is right to encourage only the one overt rocker, "The Hard Way," and to simply let the artist be herself. McNally is so irresistibly winsome, sexy, seductive, and vulnerable that, chances are, you'll be ready to move in by the end of the opening track.--Alanna Nash