Infamous Angel (1992)

DeMent arrived with a quivering Arkansas soprano that sounded like it had stepped straight off a 1930s church porch. Her singing possesses an idiosyncratic, conversational wobble that refuses polite vibrato, delivering reflections on family departures and rural mortality with breathtaking emotional transparency. Cuts like Let the Mystery Be and Our Town showcase her rare gift for pairing plain-spoken philosophising with melodic warmth.