On Long Island Shores, Smith pervades her distinctly gentle voicing amidst soft modern country ballads and light gales of folk-pop textures.
Just Because I
Backed by remarkably accomplished musicians, including acoustic guitar role model Bryan Sutton and steel guitar master Dan Dugmore, Ms. Smith seems satisfied with pretty acoustic arrangements that only rarely give way to more aggressive expressions. It’s not a bad formula, as shown in “Angel Doves,” but it dominates the disc until the listener’s stupor is interrupted by the processed vocals of “Hard to Know,” a near-rocker that would be far more convincing if Ms. Smith’s tenuous voice could carry the voltage she wrote into the tune.
