The third album from Elisabeth Maurus chronicles a period of flux: moving back to the midwest after a decade in California, and leaving Sony after two UK top 20 albums. It opens impressively – Hollywood and Hero mine the same seam of exquisite sadness that Lana Del Rey does so well, while Don’t You Give Up on Me mirrors the FM-friendly folk-pop of Haim. Equally powerful, Ojai is a stripped-back and heartfelt goodbye to her adopted west coast hometown. My Wild West isn’t without its longueurs, however, the introspection of Together or Apart and Go For a Walk failing to make much impact, but overall this is a fine set of grownup pop songs.
