Sorry Is Gone

Jessica Lea Mayfield's fourth solo LP, Sorry Is Gone, continues a career push-and-pull between soft-spoken country-rock and more assertive, riff-fueled indie rock. While her debut featured more of the former and her third solo album, 2014's Make My Head Sing..., embraced the latter, on Sorry Is Gone she takes her foot off the gas just a little and finds a zone where heartache and empowerment both sit comfortably. Of note, the album was written during Mayfield's separation from her husband and prior music collaborator, Jesse Newport. After recording two albums with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Make My Head Sing... with Newport, she headed to the studio with a producer who has a knack for finding this type of raw sweet spot, John Agnello (Sonic Youth, the Hold Steady). Combined with fuzz and twang, dreamy echo, and an unrestrained drawl, Mayfield's often woebegone delivery is also sharpened by candid, occasionally snide lyrics: "Any tips on how to feel more human/Or how to un-dehuman