Lighthouse

Susan Cowsill, the youngest member of ‘60s family group the Cowsills is back with a second solo album that is far more anguished than her first solo release, 2005’s Just Believe It. She lost her brother Barry and most of her personal belongings during Hurricane Katrina, and her other brother, Billy, passed away the same year. Her musical friends rallied around her, from her sister-in-law, the Bangles’ Vicki Peterson, to session guitarist extraordinaire Waddy Wachtel, and Jackson Browne, who joins her for “Avenues of the Indians.” This is a tightly played piece of emotional upheaval, sweetened with cello, violin, mandolin and organ. “Sweet Bitter End” retains a country-rock sway. “You and Me Baby” has the somber, forlorn feeling of a last dance. “River of Love” is the sound of a spirit, however, regenerating itself and finding a new path to the future. The cover of Glen Campbell’s “Galveston” slips into the album’s flow with a gorgeous poignancy. Lighthouse is an album that handles the darkness with a surprising amount of light. Cowsill’s work is a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit.