Jennifer O'Connor

Talk about blood on the tracks: Jennifer O'Connor's last album, 2006's Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, was a moving set inspired in large part by the deaths of two siblings and a traumatic romantic breakup. Her latest, Here With Me, is the sound of that person moving forward and reconciling, blending bitter youthful memories with a new, cautiously hopeful perspective. While Here With Me lacks the more rock-out moments of its predecessor, the sheer uncertainty of even its most optimistic songs is audacious and brave. Anyone who's found themselves depressed and melancholy, even when things are finally on the upswing, will relate to its depth of emotion. Anyone who hasn't caught her previous St. Louis appearances would do well to attend.