Tristen has always been a difficult artist to categorize. Sometimes she sounds like country crooner and others a bonafide pop star, and her sound has continued to evolve and mature since her 2011 debut Charlatans at the Gate. Her third and latest record Sneaker Waves is a slice of sweet pop perfection. Named after a forceful wave in the midst of calmer ones, Sneaker Waves is captivating and imaginative, and at times so beautiful it’s hypnotic.

Mama Possum has had a buncha babies, and they're all worrisome. But for those of us just listening in, the only thing worrisome about this ten-piece Fat Possum brood is which treasure to dive into first. R.L. Burnside, Reverend Gary Davis, Honeyboy Edwards, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, Furry Lewis, Little Brother Montgomery, Houston Stackhouse, Bukka White, and Reverend Robert Wilkins are all vying for your attention on these full-length, rare, and out of print releases also available on vinyl and on MP3 through Amazon Music.

The first three songs on Somewhere start slowly, with plenty of sonic and lyrical flourish.  However, from the catchy — and I mean that in the best way — riff and the "Hey, babe," beginning "Summer Days," you start to say to yourself:  I am listening to something fresh, fine, and plain damn good.  The words are simple, but the patterns they make and the way Kennedy uses them to say things are special and new, in unexpected links and loops.