When pushing her 2016 debut
New City Blues, Aubrie Sellers dubbed her sound "garage country" -- not a bad description of her world-view, which is constructed equally from noisy rock swagger and Nashville classicalism. There's a tension between these two extremes and Sellers' sweet, placid voice -- which, it has to be said, occasionally resembles the timbre of her mother
Lee Ann Womack, even if the two tackle songs quite differently -- takes on different dimensions according to her arrangements. When things are either gnarled or spooky, she cuts against the guitars, providing a compelling contrast, but when things soften, she enhances her hushed surroundings. In both cases, her unaffected delivery -- not flat but rather direct, lacking any sense of showboating -- proves quietly compelling, the foundation from which
New City Blues is built. One of the best qualities of this debut is its construction, from the production of
Frank Liddell -- best known for his work with
Miranda Lambert and also Sellers' stepfather -- to the songs themselves. Perhaps Sellers succumbs to the temptation to be a little bit too on the nose -- "Magazines," her broadside against media-fabricated standards, hits every expected mark -- but her execution is still sharp and when all the gears kick in,
New City Blues is exceptional: soulful, smart, and unpredictable, Americana music that doesn't feel beholden to tradition even when it embraces it. [
New City Blues was also released with two bonus tracks: live studio versions of "In My Room" and "The Way I Feel Inside."]
![New City Blues [Bonus Track]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093624916819_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg)
![New City Blues [Bonus Track]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093624916819_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg)
![New City Blues [Bonus Track]](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v7.18.7)
