Chely Wright reunited with producer
Tony Brown -- the man behind hit records by
George Strait and
Reba McEntire, as well as
Wright's own
Let Me In -- for her fourth album,
Single White Female. The record picks up where its predecessor left off, offering a selection of ten songs with clean, tasteful arrangments that place
Wright in the forefront. If the songs aren't always immediately grabbing, they're all classy, well-written tunes that slowly work their way into memory. Even when
Wright and Brown shoot for the charts, such as on the big chorus of "The Love That We Lost," they pull it off, since
Chely never oversings and the instrumentation is never bombastic. She still sounds her best on ballads, but her uptempo numbers -- including the clever title track and "The Fire" -- are equally convincing, which is one of the main reasons that
Single White Female is a welcome addition to an already impressive catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine