Paris, The City of Lights may be a good inspiration to any artists, as Canadian singer Sarah Slean and after two records and a Grammy nomination, Tift Merritt came home with her third album “Another Country” including her best and most personal songs to date featuring her complices and guests stars Charlie Sexton and Doug Pettibone.

If the first step brings critical acclaim and the second garners Grammy® consideration, what could be in line for North Carolina native Tift Merritt since a 2002 emergence that left critics scrambling for adjectives? The talented singer/songwriter has often been miscast as a country artist, and Another Country is an opportunity to leave that moniker behind. She dips slightly into the genre, such as on the country rocker “Something to Me,” the lead track featuring guitarist Charlie Sexton and sweet organ trimmings from bandmate Danny Eisenberg. From there the record sways into a flurry of styles, and Merritt never misses a beat. The blue-eyed soul of “Morning is My Destination” recalls Dusty in Memphis, while “Tell Me Something True” is an R&B nugget that has the breezy Merritt sounding eerily like Diana Ross. Elements of rock, folk, and blues pervade, and producer George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, the Jayhawks) stays out of the way, allowing Merritt’s voice to embody the songs, all 11 of which flow from start to finish, uninterrupted and primed for full-on stardom. –Scott Holter