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The Hot Club of Cowtown fiddler Elana James makes it a point to let her folk flag shine high and mightily on Black Beauty.

Primarily known for her work with the western swing trio the Hot Club of Cowtown, frontwoman and fiddler Elana James has made it a point to let her folk flag shine high and mightily in her solo debut, Black Beauty. Beyond that, James has been eager to show a substantial nod towards innovation in ways that would have been otherwise unfathomable to new listeners expecting a straight Americana album and faithful Cowtown followers alike. Offering her gently discordant vocals to the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple”, James gives the benevolent rock staple a countrified intonation. Meanwhile, on “Hey Beautiful: Last Letter From Iraq”, she creates a lilting traditional folk soundscape around the actual final letter home of US Army Staff Sgt. Juan Campos, who’d died in 2007 while serving.