Allison Moorer's previous album, 2000's darkly majestic The Hardest Part, was a masterpiece. So how do you follow that?

This is how. On Miss Fortune, Allison and guitarist/husband Doyle "Butch" Primm have crafted a magnificent set of songs that again fearlessly travel the melancholy back roads of love.

Beginning with the gently sad "Tumbling Down," Allison slides confidently from the bluesy "Yessirree" to the graphic "Ruby Jewel Was Here" to the chilling "Dying Breed." Each of Miss Fortune's 13 tunes shines a light into a different dark corner, illuminating the beauty and hurt it finds there.

Miss Fortune gives Allison's raw alt-country sound an injection of classic R&B, while bringing back the haunting string arrangements that colored The Hardest Part. But the main attraction is always her voice, a creamy Alabama drawl that pours character and passion over every word.

Allison Moorer is one of country's greatest - and most underappreciated - treasures, and she's on a blazing hot streak. Don't miss out on Miss Fortune.

-- Chris Neal