For those not in the know, don't worry, for the brilliant Peggy James - born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but who spent her formative years in the Southwest - defies categories!

Sure, there's a lot of country in her songwriting and her voice, but listen carefully enough and you'll soon come upon elements of many other music genres too.

On her fifth album, Paint Still Wet (due out September 18th, 2020 via Daystorm Music), Peggy is a pop artist for the 21st century, eclectic in her sources and strong in her conviction in the power of a well-crafted four-minute song.

Is Peggy Americana? Only if the audible influence of The Beatles and Elton John counts as Americana. Peggy grew up with big ears and — without calculation or deliberation — draws widely from the sonic world around her.

With a timeless simplicity, Peggy’s lyrics are heartfelt in their profession of love and friendship. Heartbreak is delivered with wrenching poetry, regret in meaningful sighs.

Singing in a soft, emotionally resonant voice, the Wisconsin singer-songwriter gives performances that echo with the confident humanity of the Midwest.

1. 'Let's Fly Away'
2. 'Wiser'
3. 'Holdin' Hands'
4. 'San Antone'
5. 'Can't Do Lonely Anymore'
6. 'Sailor Knots'
7. 'Lighter Than a Feather'
8. 'Head Over Heels'
9. 'Nothin's The Same'
10. 'Fallen Star'
11. 'Scarlet and Gold'
12. 'Gettin' Serious'

Once again championed by veteran producer/guitarist Jim Eannelli, whose meticulous attention to detail ensures that justice has been well and truly served here to the projects’ recording, the album opens with the easy, breezy, free flowing vibe of 'Let's Fly Away' and then bleeds seamlessly into the lo-fi Americana of 'Wiser.'

Up next are the mid-tempo melodies of 'Holdin' Hands,' and then we get the reminiscing of a love gone by within 'San Antone' and a stand out cut in the form of the lushly orchestrated, breathy '60s-esque appeal of 'Can't Do Lonely Anymore.'

Next up is the ornately delicate, mid-tempo ballad 'Sailor Knots' which is followed by one of my own personal favorites, the gentle hipsway of a love lost within 'Lighter Than a Feather,' which in turn is backed by the countrified 'Head Over Heels,' and then a buoyantly upbeat message of standing tall in the face of a fallen love, 'Nothin's The Same.'

Coming into the final straight, and we get another stand out track in the form of the country blues of 'Fallen Star,' with the album rounding out on the sweepingly majestic audioscape of 'Scarlet and Gold,' closing on the upbeat rockabilly flow of 'Gettin' Serious.'

From pop/rock to ballads to country/bluegrass, Peggy’s storytelling, melodies, and lyrics here on Paint Still Wet create captivating journeys that we can all relate to.

“What inspires me the most in writing a song is a good story,” Peggy says. “Traveling, observing, listening and reflecting on my own life experiences affords a lot of material because there are so many stories to be told."

"Putting these stories to music is a way to connect these stories to people on deeper emotional levels.”