Long admired as a side player—delivering perfect backing vocals for other artists (Chris Isaak, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill), serving as a member of Jack White's Third Man Records house band, duetting with artists including Blake Shelton—songbird Ashley Monroe has never achieved the mainstream solo success she deserves. That's not likely to change with Rosegold, which is wonderful and beautiful and, frankly, probably too weird for country radio. After three releases on Warner Nashville, this is her first indie record in a while; she's knocked down every single barrier and is running completely wild and free. Monroe puts the most experimental song, "Siren," right at the start: There are EDM-style layers of sound, deep synths and, at times, a little Middle Eastern inflection. But do not fear. "Gold" ("You're good as gold, the more I see the more it shines") opens with grand orchestration, then drops into throbbing bass and finger snaps. It's pretty much a pop song, but there's no mistaking who Ashley Monroe is: With that crystalline, reach-for-the-clouds voice, she's the closest we have to a modern Dolly Parton. So it's intriguing to hear it applied to the fun '90s R&B stylings of "Groove" and "Til It Breaks" and the bedroom soul of "See," which works a '50s vibe in with its swaying chorus and angelic harmonies. Here and throughout, Monroe sounds incredibly confident in her womanhood. "Drive" is unabashedly seductive and sexy—"Drive me like your classic/ You just have to have it/ Feels so good to have your hands on the wheel."(It also proves that Monroe understands the power of vocal runs that are pretty rather than knocking listeners over the head with showiness.) She defies genre with the Enya-esque "I Mean It" and spoken word noir of "The New Me": "I am making a way in the wilderness...dreams in the wasteland." And while "Silk" and the moving piano ballad "Flying" are familiar territory for Monroe—delicate and airy, almost like music box melodies—it's absolutely lovely. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz