Folk music used to be so 1960s. For some reason, it's picking back up again and any Northerner with a banjo, steel guitar and affinity for Ryan Adams seems to be releasing the next great folk record. For New Yorker Annie Crane, her first full-length release lumps her into this pile, although she would land nearer to the top than the bottom for one reason: her band.

Although classically trained in voice, it's hard at times to understand where the odd faux-Irish sounding accent is from and it takes some wearing-in to appreciate it. Once you settle down into the album and get to a track like "A Song for Dolly" it no longer matters. The music is more alt-country than folk at times, and that's where she shines the most. With fiddles and knee-slapping drums, her voice just becomes one more instrument and thanks to the heartily populated backing band, this is an alright thing.

In general, the album's music is plain and upbeat enough that it would be possible to imagine sitting in a field of say, daisies, holding hands with some strangers, contemplating world peace. It's also plain enough that some tracks will likely slip right out of your memory right after you hear them. It's upbeat enough though at times that you will be forced to wonder whether or not sitting in that field would actually be a bad thing. (self-released)