Covering miles of musical ground on Soul of My Soul, Michelle Shocked works the tougher precincts of alt country and vulnerable balladry, and ventures toward old-school soul and new-wave rock, leading the way with her strong, confident vocals. Topically, Shocked opens painful personal wounds, searches for spirituality and meaning and shakes her fist at eight years of misrule in Washington. She deserves to be ranked with the better singer-songwriters of her generation.
