My Best Yesterday (Innerstate, 2002)

Jill Olson of Red Meat fame went solo again. Surprisingly, this funtastic CD full of country-flavored girl-pop is helmed by Mr. Americana Hero himself, Dave Alvin, who also adds a bit of guitarwork to his production duties. Usually when you see the Alvin name attached to a project you can expect some gritty roots rock with a ton of bristling guitars and some serious lyrical themes.

Not here. In place of that, you get some lighter lyrical themes dealing with love and relationships while the music is a blend of classic Dusty Springfiled pop with a dash of Lisa Loeb. Olson's vocals are reminiscent of Jeannie C. Riley and Donna Fargo in that they are countryish sounding, very pure and sweet. In fact, Olson's vocals are the most country thing about this disc, which actually makes it a bit of a surprise, a breath of fresh air in a genre loaded with acts who sometimes fail to crafty their own sound, choosing instead to ape classic sounds of the past.

On her second solo CD, Olson has found a great original sound and one fans of country and pop can enjoy equally.