Julie Roberts

While her debut's been promoted through a glitzy high-fashion photo package and items in trendy magazines, South Carolina native Roberts, who has the looks for such hype, also delivers the goods. Her smoky, beguiling voice echoes Bonnie Raitt and a young Tanya Tucker. She and producer/guitarist Brent Rowan shun the blaring arena rock or folk-flavored pretense that plagues many debuts. This one emphasizes solid, quality commercial fare in an Americana-based setting heavy on acoustic guitars and rhythm. Roberts sets the tone with Jamie O'Hara's fetchingly acerbic "You Ain't Down Home." The winsome "Unlove Me" and let-it-rip "Just 'Cause We Can" each pack a wallop; so does the witty morning-after chronicle "Wake Up Older" and the dark, evocative "No Way Out." No overdone power ballads here. Understatement drives her elegant, heartbreaking interpretation of Julie Miller's "I Can't Get Over You." In the end, Roberts remembers an axiom many on Music Row long ago forgot: a powerful voice, simple, honest storytelling, and no-frills music are still what country's about. --Rich Kienzle