Where Country Grows

With her 2008 debut, Sounds So Good, Ashton Shepherd proved to be a little trickier to peg than Miranda Lambert, the fiery singer/songwriter who may be her closest mainstream competition. Shepherd’s music has deeper roots than Lambert’s — there’s a sense that it extends all the way back to the classic country of the ‘50s — and she has a dark, smoky undertow to her voice that gives her an unpredictable soulfulness. These are aspects that give Shepherd considerable character but they make her a bit harder to market, which may be why her 2011 sophomore set, Where Country Grows, makes considerable effort to brighten and broaden her sound, to bring in listeners who may not have been seduced by the late-night vibes of Sounds So Good.