Music Review: Stacy Grubb's "From the Barroom to the Steeple"

It is 5 years almost to the day since I reviewed Stacy Grubb's debut album, 'Hurricane'. "Behind her pert image and vivacious personality," I wrote, "lurks a deep Christian thinker, a gifted song-writer, and an outstanding singer who is already able to command studio support from ace musicians and backing vocalists. The end result is a perfectly balanced album: thoroughly informed by bluegrass without being a slave to it. By turns haunting and exuberant, it is sonically beautiful from start to finish."

Five years of intense commitment to family life later, Stacy has released a new album: 'From the Barroom to the Steeple'. The arrangements and production are deliberately more stripped down but still gorgeous, the songwriting more assured but still deeply personal, and the style a little closer to pure bluegrass but still pleasantly inclusive.

Above all, time has addressed the few flaws in tone and phrasing that were audible on the debut album, and personal experience of adversity has helped to develop a deeper spirituality in Stacy's lyrics as well as a more searching and adventurous melodic scheme.  

Stacy's music is not corporate 'product' with vast marketing muscle behind it, but it's available from iTunes and other online retailers and deserves a wider audience.

Thoroughly recommended.