Pulse

Julie Miller's previous album, for a contemporary Christian label, hardly foreshadowed the striking artistic confidence of Blue Pony. Although capably aided by the rugged reverberations of the low-toned guitar of husband Buddy Miller, who also produced, Miller's alt-country bow nonetheless shines for reasons wholeheartedly her own. Her writing has a marvelous way of taking carnal images and transforming them into kindhearted observations about the tension between temptation and transcendence. She displays an amazing breadth, stretching from lustful tones ("Dancing Girl") to evocative introspection ("Give Me an Ocean") to Celtic swirl ("Forever My Beloved") to prayerful magnificence ("Last Song"). Miller has a reedy, vinegared voice that she wields with an open spirit, and it's a good instrument for conveying songs that deserve to be heard.

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