Album review: Caitlin Rose, The Stand-In (Names)

This follow-up builds on the feisty freshness of Caitlin Rose's Own Side Now, her debut from 2010.

The declamatory chords heralding "No One to Call" set the tone of punchy country-rock employed on songs like "Only a Clown" and "Silver Sings", while its theme – about songs providing solace for the lonely – embodies her knack for emotional ambivalence, best represented by the almost euphoric melancholy prompted by a photo in "Everywhere I Go". But ultimately it's the melodic charm of tunes like "Only a Clown" and "Silver Sings" that most secures her crossover appeal.

Download: No One to Call; Only a Clown; Silver Sings; Everywhere I Go