Lera Lynn gradually left the exquisitely sculpted moodiness of her 2016 breakthrough
Resistor behind, incorporating light and warmth on such subsequent records as
On My Own. Some of this shift could be credited to her collaboration with
Todd Lombardo, a multi-instrumentalist who entered
Lynn's orbit on
Plays Well with Others, a record released the same year as
Kacey Musgraves' era-defining
Golden Hour, which also featured
Lombardo. While
Lynn's 2022 album
Something More Than Love doesn't precisely sound like
Musgraves, its bright, shape-shifting surfaces belong to the same genre-bending spectrum as
Golden Hour. That alone marks a monumental shift from the burnished, interior perspective of
Resistor, but the openheartedness of
Something More Than Love is underscored by how much the record was inspired by
Lynn giving birth to a child fathered by
Lombardo. Much of the album reckons with the emotional shockwaves that follow being a new parent, feelings that are often warm even if they're occasionally conflicted. It's here that it's possible to chart the journey
Lynn has been on since
Resistor. Where she used to dwell in the shadows, on
Something More Than Love she's basking in daylight. Within that brightness, she finds plenty of different textures and sounds, creating music that's every bit as atmospheric as her earlier records but carrying an appealingly lighter vibe. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine