The title of Kim Richey’s eighth album, “Edgeland” is a term used to describe areas of the United States that fall between the urban centers and the rural countryside. It’s the perfect metaphor for her hard-to-catagorize music and this new album is among her best.

This is Richey’s first album in five years but she’s kept busy touring, songwriting and collaborating and “Edgeland” features guests like Robyn Hitchcock, Chuck Prophet, and Mando Saenz, who not only play on the album but have co-written some of the songs. A duet with Prophet that closes the album is one of it’s highlights.

The album is pure Americana minus the twang and Richey with her producer, Brad Jones, known for his work with Over the Rhine, Josh Rouse and Hayes Carll have found the sweet spot between big city rock and small town country.

With deceptively simple lyrics that use small details to make moving stories, Richey seems to always be in motion, following where the music leads out to the edgeland of America where her music is most understood.

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