By Ian Bremner

Do not mistake Erin Rae’s soft, breezy sound for equally lighthearted subject matter. There is some dark shit on her new record, Putting On Airs. If listening purely on the surface, the album is insanely pretty, with stunning vocals. If listening with a close ear pressed to songs, you’ll hear tales of mental health, deep family history and quiet moments of talking to God alone.

Erin Rae went up to Appleton, Wisconsin to record the album with co-producers Dan Knobler and Jerry Bernhardt at Cory Chisel’s Refuge Arts Center. The record’s short-story feel and her Nashville roots may get her lumped in with today’s current country music resurgence, but nothing about Putting On Airs is inherently “country.” It’s more Roy Orbison meets Neko Case if anything, and even that is typecasting more than necessary.

No one in their right mind would compare their voices, the album cover could remind you of something Tom Waits would enjoy. Though similarly to Waits’ work, Putting On Airs is a songwriter laying it all out on the line. That is about where the comparisons end. Erin Rae’s story is entirely her own, and we’re all lucky she chose to share.

Listen to Putting On Airs via spotify

Listen to Can’t Cut Loose and Bad Mind via soundcloud