Cherry Valley Forever

For Carter Faith, Cherry Valley is a state of mind. The quickly rising country star tells Apple Music that she first came across the would-be title of her full-length debut album while driving through Tennessee, spotting the name “Cherry Valley” on a road sign and soon adopting the name for her own fantastical dreamland. It only made sense to choose Cherry Valley to title her debut outing, a delightful and often surprising collection from a young artist with a truly kaleidoscopic vision. “I write a lot of different styles of songs,” Faith says. “I have a lot of different music that I like to listen to, so I guess a lot of different influences, too, but I really could not just go down one narrow lane for the album in my brain, at least. And so, I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m the through line. My story is the through line.’” Cherry Valley opens with its cinematic title track, which isn’t so much a literal origin story as it is a spiritual one, with Faith imagining a “crystal sunrise on the lake” as strings swell behind her. “Sex, Drugs, & Country Music” ups the twang with traditional production including pedal steel and Western guitar, and vocals from Faith that recall Lee Ann Womack and Patsy Cline. Other highlights are the winking two-stepper “Bar Star” (the music video for that one stars none other than Billy Bob Thornton) and “Betty”, a clever, wordplay-heavy barn burner about a femme fatale, à la “Jolene”. On this deluxe Cherry Valley Forever edition of the LP, Faith adds five new tracks, including standout “Nothin’ Better to Do”, a wistful duet with critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Wyatt Flores. “Dead Horse” lends a rose-coloured perspective to a burgeoning situationship, as Faith asks, “Don’t you wanna beat this dead horse into the ground?” atop gauzy pedal steel and gentle synth. “Pearl Handled Pistol” lets Faith lean into some girl power, as Laci Kaye Booth and Baby Nova both lend their voices to the feisty track. Faith channels Miranda Lambert on “I