I don’t often like to look at an artist and think of their pedigree before listening to their music, but with Monica Rizzio and her latest record “Washashore Cowgirl”, its tough to do. Fronting a well established and engrained bluegrass band in the New England community and looking at the liner notes with a list of “who’s who” in the bluegrass realm (Sierra Hill, Mark Erelli, Brittany Hass and more) certainly helps add to the high expectations of a record. The former Tripping Lily front gal hung up her condenser mic for a more robust band line up and it certainly shows on this latest release.

The salt of Cape Cod hasn’t fully washed away the slight twang in Rizzio’s voice, it peeks out from behind the corners of the album in certain annunications from time to time across the tracks and displays the singers Texas roots. A collection of tunes spanning from country rockers to ballad-esque slow two steps, a solid compilation that highlights the singer-songwriters voice as the star of the show. There is an elegance to her voice, but she remains grounded. Rizzio has applied some of that industry shine to her songs, but still keeps true to herself and honest to her sound and vibe. She feels like a gal you could sit down and have a beer with, but then she would slam her glass down, walk onto the stage and blows everyone in the audience the hell away with her presence.

The writing is accessible. There are certainly some pop elements to it. Repeatability, sing along capability. And the arrangements are pleasant with an acoustic rhythm being the main driving force being the foundation. The playing is clean, the harmonies are sweet and simple, and there is a consistency to the songs that makes me really like Rizzio and feel like I know a bit about her through her songs.

But clean arrangements shouldn’t be the be all end all, there is some depth and variety here as well. Depth in the thematic nature of a collection of songs, but also the personality of the writer.  “Luckier Than You” takes on a solemn tone in its nature and theme. It feels a bit darker and weighter in its character. “Willie Nelson” is a standout, with its finger picked drive. The low E string grounding at each interval and a slow build with fiddle and piling on the beat of the snare, transitioning into full band. “Washashore Cowgirl” shows the more light-hearted and humor side of the writer. Turning the focus on her roots and poking fun, while remaining relevant. There is a swing and dance to the music here.

Monica Rizzio celebrates the release of “Washashore Cowgirl” at Club Passim on March 31. Tickets are still available at this point and you can get yours today by heading on over HERE.