Angela Desveaux's second solo album is agreeable but very much old time country in the mould of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, mildly infused with Californian rock. Despite her Montreal and Nova Scotia background, Desveaux's musical origins are very much south of the Mason”“Dixon Line. While she was championed on her first album (2006's Wandering Eyes) by the likes of Arcade Fire's Howard Bilerman, listeners expecting a more impressionistic (i.e., alt) take on country might find this a little too close to the middle of the road.

The ship imagery of The Mighty Ship might hint at Win Butler's 'great black wave' or other menacing deep sea symbolism, but the sonic signifiers here are very much open highways, scorched asphalt, tumbleweeds, motels and diners - the shoreline palpably absent. This little paradox between Desveaux's oceanic thematic threads and the steel-pedal twang could have created an unusual fission but The Mighty Ship mostly fizzles rather than sparks. The title track comes closest, its mythic balladry and sea shanty undertones intermingling with Americana in gently surprising ways. Desveaux has a classic country lilt to her singing, but lacks the power and emotional resonance of Neco Case or the sassy charm of, say, Lucinda Williams.

There are some individual moments of great beauty, mostly added-value guitar work sent to rescue otherwise ordinary songs. The brooding 'Worried Mind', for instance, has a long-slung solo deep in the mix, while the heartbreakingly despondent 'Joining Another' has some spine-tinglingly gorgeous guitar work. However, these moments are too few and far between in a record that is, while accomplished, rather innocuous. She sounds rather defeated on many songs while recounting tales of women caught in unhealthy relationships, but neither the words nor the delivery are quite clever or cutting enough.
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