At the center of Leslie Stevens’ music is that notoriously heart-catching voice. She can belt it out grandly when she wants to, but the Los Angeles singer also possesses a distinctively honeyed tone that imbues her new album, Sinner, with a radiant charisma that sparks both ebullient love songs and more intimate ballads. Stevens’ voice is so beguiling that she has developed a thriving sideline as an in-demand singer who has recorded and performed with a litany of disparate musicians, including Florence + the Machine, Jim James, Father John Misty, Jenny O., Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, Jonny Fritz, and John Fogerty.

Stevens might be a singer’s singer, but it’s her bold original songwriting that elevates Sinner from a merely dazzling vocal showcase into an artistically ambitious, poignantly affecting and sometimes startling work. Produced by Jonathan Wilson (Dawes, Roger Waters, Father John Misty) – who added to the record’s moody atmosphere by playing a variety of instruments (guitars, bass, drums, percussion and even Mellotron) – Sinner is a stirring statement of purpose by the native Missouri singer.

Stevens’ two previous full-length recordings – Roomful of Smoke (when she fronted the beloved country-rock combo Leslie Stevens & the Badgers) and her first solo album, The Donkey and the Rose – led the Los Angeles Times to declare that she is “one of the city’s best” and L.A. Weekly to anoint her as Best Country Singer in 2018. But Sinner represents something of a daring step forward for the singer-guitarist. Brave lyrically and vulnerable in spirit: Leslie never shies away from laying down what’s what, if only to leave a mark on the most golden part of your soul.