Beautiful Wild

2013 release from the Canadian singer/songwriter. Jenn Grant's the Beautiful Wild, her fourth record, expresses wonders beyond pleasant views. Having grown up on Prince Edward Island, Canada, she saw lush landscapes and the glistening sea right outside her window, and it was easy to take such things for granted. The album title is a challenge: To accept the grueling lows of life that come between glorious highs. To embrace life means acknowledging it's inevitable confrontations. So why this record and why now? Simply put, it's the songs, soulful and ornate, with lush guitars, pianos, horns, banjos, strings and even a boys' chorus populating the Beautiful Wild like trees in the woods. But everything stands aside for Grant's captivating singing, a thick tenor that trails like heavy smoke. While her past material established her throughout Canada as a musician of distinct note, the Beautiful Wild propels her into new realms of accomplishment.