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• It was the first time she worked with session musicians. (鈥淚t was amazing. I felt like I could let go. 鈥� It was wildly different than anything I鈥檝e experienced before.鈥�)
• It was the first time she鈥檚 worked with 蜜柚直播鈥檚 眉ber producer/musician Gabriel Sullivan. (鈥淗e鈥檚 incredible. He can play every instrument. He gets an idea and he can lay it down. It was so fun.鈥�)
• And it was the first time she put everything on the line in the studio, allowing herself to be alternately in control and vulnerable.

鈥淔or the first time I didn鈥檛 hide anything,鈥� Haverly said last week as she put the finishing touches on a pair of record release gigs beginning with a full-band concert at Club Congress on Friday, Feb. 2; she鈥檚 doing a stripped down listening party Feb. 24 at downtown鈥檚 Exo Roast Co.

鈥淚 put everything on the table. For the first time I didn鈥檛 feel like I had to dim myself,鈥� she explained. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a weird thing to say, but I just felt free.鈥�

Artists are famous for saying that their latest album is the best they鈥檝e ever recorded, but when Haverly says it, her voice rising with excitement and tinged with palpable emotion, you get a sense that she鈥檚 turned some musical corner and has landed in a place she鈥檚 been aiming for since she wrote her first song more than 20 years ago. 鈥淧luto鈥� is her fifth solo album; she鈥檚 also recorded two albums with her funky jazz-soul-blues band Copper and Congress.

It was a year-long process getting 鈥淧luto鈥� from the page to the record, starting with a failed Kickstarter campaign 鈥� she wasn鈥檛 able to reach her $7,000 goal in time. But once she connected with Sullivan at his downtown Dust and Stone Recording Studio, things started coming together in a way that she describes as magical.

Haverly and her longtime musical and personal partner Benjamin Nesbit, a violinist and multi-instrumentalist, joined Winston Watson on drums and Thoger Lund on upright bass and electric guitar for the recording, guided by the longtime and well-respected musician Sullivan, who has a vibrant solo career in addition to collaborating with 蜜柚直播 musician Brian Lopez. Connor Gallaher also appeared on 鈥淧luto鈥� on pedal steel and electric guitar and Sullivan added guitar and percussion.

Haverly said Sullivan wanted the musicians to go into the studio cold and let the album come together organically.

鈥淗e really wanted us to go in and not have rehearsed with the rhythm section and I was kind of nervous about this,鈥� she admitted. 鈥淏ut he really wanted me to trust him and so I did. We went in and he had never heard the songs before and we would do one play-through and then we would record. So there鈥檚 this really fresh, alive energy to this album because so many of these songs we got live. Seven out of 12 songs are entirely live performances. I鈥檓 really proud of that and I really love that about this record because it feels so genuine and present.鈥�

So what does it sound like?

鈥淭he scope and the breadth of this record can be very cinematic and dramatic, and very quiet and beautiful,鈥� said Haverly, whose vocals have often been compared to Sarah McLachlan. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a wide range of songs and overall I really feel like the album is telling a story from beginning to end. I鈥檓 old school; I still make records this way.鈥�

The record is admittedly political, her way of dealing with everything that鈥檚 been going on in the world in the age of Donald Trump. The title song is perhaps rthe album鈥檚 biggest political statement.

鈥淚 think of 鈥楶luto鈥� as Donald Trump. He鈥檚 on the outside. He thinks he鈥檚 not part of us. He鈥檚 got his own moon but he鈥檚 still connected to us and he can still screw the whole thing up,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all in this together. We live in a delicate balance.鈥�

Havely doesn鈥檛 like to over-explain her songs. She would prefer listeners draw their own conclusions.

鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of this record. I鈥檝e never been so proud of anything I鈥檝e done,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 love these songs. I love how we recorded them and the production,鈥� she said, noting that this is the most rock heavy record she鈥檚 recorded with more electric guitar and percussion than her previous projects.

鈥淚t鈥檚 different. There鈥檚 still a little jazzy elements, but I think it鈥檚 more accessible,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 some songs that get stuck in your head, and that鈥檚 not common for me. I like writing weird music so I think this album is more accessible.

Haverly is releasing 鈥淧luto鈥� on a couple downloadable formats and has created the first of several videos to accompany the release.