Kelly Willis, _What I Deserve_

Kelly Willis is beautiful in every way. She's easy on the eyes, the ears, *and* the mind. No obtuse chanteuse, she, Kelly Willis is a modern gal who brings light and soul-warming heat to the burgeoning alt-country scene with this record, her first since 1993's eponymous MCA release.

Resurrected by Ryko (is this the best label in the world or what?!), Willis could barely contain her joy as she debuted much of the new material at her recent South by Southwest showcase in her hometown, Austin, Texas. Born without the safety net of a major label advance, the songs on _Deserve_ bespeak a desperate kind of beauty, like the fading light in a pageant queen's eyes as she's about to hand over the crown.

Willis mixes deft covers (Paul Westerberg's plaintive "They're Blind," Paul Kelly's precious "Cradle of Love") with brilliant writing of her own, all stretched taut across expert musicianship -- but left just loose enough to let the light linger for that one last, precious moment.