So Long Little Miss Sunshine

So Long Little Miss Sunshine

Expect the unexpected from Molly Tuttle, the California-hailing ascendant bluegrass star who’s seemingly determined to push the genre’s boundaries on her fifth full-length, So Long Little Miss Sunshine. Near the centre of this pop-inflected record is one of the most disarming covers in recent memory: a lilting, feather-light take on Swedish pop duo Icona Pop’s Charli xcx-written sugar-bomb “I Love It”, recontextualised by Tuttle as an aching portrait of uninhibited abandon. Even as Tuttle showcases her expert picking skills on tunes like the fiery opener “Everything Burns” and the kaleidoscopic “Oasis”, So Long Little Miss Sunshine’s straightforward loveliness recalls Kacey Musgraves’ own country-pop crossover Golden Hour, as Tuttle’s high register soars above the soft throb of “Golden State of Mind” and sways across the simple balladry of penultimate track “No Regrets”. The result is a confident record that splits the difference between traditionalism and modernity without losing an ounce of its creator’s winsome ingenuity.