Album number 540.

Laura Stevenson, photo by Kenneth Bachor

I've been keeping a spreadsheet of all the new albums I've listened to this year, partially to help with my year end list at the beginning of January and partially to help me remember what albums not in my top 10 made an impact on me. As the year draws to a close I'm still trying to ingest all the music that was sent to me (if you send it, I'll take the time to listen) and one of the nice byproducts of this is the discovery of bands I've been sitting on for months. Like I said, I'll listen to everything but things do get pushed back in the queue.

So while many feel December is a dry period, for me it means I'm stumbling over all kinds of great albums! Case in point: Laura Stevenson's Cocksure. It's a super catchy and accessible blend of rock and pop, but she's got a bite that keeps things from feeling formulaic or middle of the road. And her songwriting is so fully realized that I broke into a wide smile halfway through the album's opening track. And that smile grew wider on tracks three and four and five and so on as I realized this wasn't an album with one good song and a lot of dross, but a bunch of great songs with no filler.

I can't find any streams to embed, so you'll have to make do with a video instead. You'll still fall in love with the song.


Aw heck, she's so good you should watch both videos she has for the current album!