Album Review: Samantha Crain – Under Branch & Thorn & Tree (6/10)

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There’s magic in a voice so tender it might crumble to dust in a modest gust of wind. Wisely, the folksy vocals on Crain’s fourth album sprinkle this wizardry on every moment, infusing her lyrics with heart-stopping Grace–which makes the album’s failure to elicit an emotional response from the listener curiously incongruous. Add a lack of stylistic diversity and a nagging sense of déjà vu and suddenly the elegant beauty of the Oklahoman’s deft warbling becomes insufficient reason to recommend this antiseptic bundle that promises more than it delivers. – Andy Kaufmann