2013 has been a banner year for female country singers, and we’re not talking Taylor Swift: critically acclaimed artists like Kacey Musgraves and Brandy Clark reminded Nashville that there’s room for serious songcraft amidst the empty beer cans and tricked-out pickup trucks. Talented Elberton native Erica Sunshine Lee continues to inspire ambivalence as to whether she belongs in the conversation. Lee rather awkwardly straddles the line between astute commentary and radio-pandering fluff; her most recent album, I’m Still Me, featured a few legitimately incisive tunes but was also bogged down by formulaic schlock (“Put Some South in Your Mouth”). Lee will celebrate the release of her new LP, the thornily titled The South Will Rise Again, Saturday, Dec. 28 at the Georgia Theatre. For her sake and ours, let’s hope it’s just a clever name.
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