Country legend Emmylou Harris isn’t the most prolific when it comes to releasing new material. Hard Bargain marks her first studio effort since 2008 and is one of her most instantly infectious releases of the past decade. While this is not intended to dismiss her prior work as inferior by any means, Harris seems to have found a comfortable balance between tragically romantic songs like My Name Is Emmett Till and more conventional folk-rock songs including Goodnight Old World. First single Six White Cadillacs as well as The Road and Home Sweet Home are excellent indicators of Harris’s current optimistic outlook, bringing listeners back to a sound that easily would have been the norm from her in the 70’s.