Patty GriffinCrown of Roses

Griffin's voice comes back softer and closer here, the instrument changed by cancer treatment, and she leans right into the cracks. The songs grew out of a six-year drought and her bond with her late mother, whose wedding photo sits on the cover. "Born in a Cage" folds gospel-blues undertones into spare folk, and Robert Plant slips in a vocal cameo. Everything sounds hushed and hard-won, just a guitar and that frayed, beautiful voice. Sparse, rich, and emotionally earned. Sit close and listen.