Carolann Ames: Laurel Canyon Road

The fifth album from San Diegan Carolann Ames, Laurel Canyon Road, cleaves to traditional country instrumentation, arrangements and themes via songs such as “Bed Of Roses”, “Steel Rose”, and the Richard Thompson-esque “Blessed Is The Love That Abides”. Elsewhere, songs such as “Not Sorry Anymore” and “Sugar Creek” take listeners into CMT land — you can almost picture the sepia-toned videos and quick dissolves. It’s not so much that the worlds which Ames straddles cannot be reconciled, but more that she seems far more comfortable in the former, but better at the latter. Without a thoroughly distinct identity or material that busts through the speakers like a bullet from a Colt 45, Laurel Canyon Road meanders without any destination.