Claire Lynch - Whatcha Gonna Do (2009)

Whatcha Gonna Do is a solid set of folk with a strong dose of bluegrass and country, sweetly sung by Claire Lynch and delivered with low-key assuredness by her band. While she did write or co-write four of the songs, Lynch is here more an interpreter of work by others. A few of the writers she covers are quite prominent, with Bill Monroe's "My Florida Sunshine" getting a less all-out bluegrass treatment than most would bring to it, and Jesse Winchester dueting with Lynch on his "That's What Makes You Strong." A more surprising source is Garth Brooks, who co-wrote "A Canary's Song" with Buddy Mondlock, and has not released his own version; it's hardly going out on a limb to declare that most folk listeners will prefer this track to anything Brooks himself has released, it being done here in a far cry from a commercial country arrangement. Soothing without being sappy, stirring without being raucous, and rather serious in tone without coming close to despair or gloom, this album is about as accessible (in a good way) as strongly bluegrass-influenced music is likely to get for a folk audience.