Angie Stevens "Queen of This Mess," 2009 Angie dips and swerves through a collection of alt country tunes intimate enough to be diary entries but universal enough to make you want to listen again and again. She's got a voice like an earthy Deana Carter and a talent for writing, with no pretense or flowery language. There's an underpinning of melancholy with a couple of exceptions and the sparse arrangements amplify the emotions. Some songs have a desperate edge, like the plea in "Hold Me Close" while some are more aggressive, like the missive "Drinking Song:" "I broke all my rules in letting you by / I made up all these excuses / Babe, you wasted my time." Co-writer Seth Larson joins her for some sweet church harmony on "Anything," one of the uplifting songs on the album, built just right for singing along. In fact, a lot of these songs have those hooky lines that'll rest in your head for weeks. The only unsettling thing was the accent that seemed to come and go. You don't need a Southern drawl to sing this type of music, just raw emotion and a good honky tonk feel and she definitely has that. © Jamie Anderson