Breaking up is hard to do, the old pop cliche goes, but New York troubadour Suzanne Vega certainly seems to be taking it in her stride. Her first studio release since the end of her marriage is a strikingly self confident affair and contains some of her best songs since her breakthrough debut Solitude Standing. While the odd programmed rhythm track makes an appearance here, the predominance of stripped-down acoustic songs shows that Vega's roots still lie firmly in the folk scene. There's no obvious hit single to rival Luka or Tom's Diner, but Vega fans will still be reassured that her gift for deceptively simple vignettes that lodge in the memory hasn't deserted her just yet.
