Review: Carrie Underwood

Amazingly a decade has passed since Carrie Underwood soared to victory on the fourth season of American Idol. Since then she has been inundated with accolades and praise for her consistently strong new country releases.

Having taken something of a siesta after the release of her 2012 album Blown Away, Carrie thrilled fans with the release of the stunning single 'Something In The Water' to celebrate her first retrospective collection, Greatest Hits: Decade #1.

While she followed the single up with the compelling and deeply meaningful Little Toy Guns around the same time she gave birth to her first child, Isaiah, fans are currently on countdown to the release of her new album, Storyteller.

Having teased fans about the musical journey that has seen her arrive at Storyteller, the response to lead single Smoke Break has been nothing short of phenomenal. A country rock song that came about as the result of needing a release during the high-pressured recording sessions shortly after she became a first time mother, fans and critics applauded Underwood's departure from her glossier, over polished earlier albums.

With expectations high, can Underwood deliver an album that meets the expectations of the critics and the demands of the fans? In one simple word, yes. Underwood has clearly matured as an artist and has wisely decided to use her Greatest Hits compilation as a breaking point between who she was once and who she now is as an artist.

Opening with the fiery Runaway Renegade, Underwood starts as she means to go on. With all guns blazing, Underwood is unafraid of showcasing her killer vocal but is equally prepared to throw some southern sass in to the mix. Far from proving herself the bland Mariah of country, she is instead a diverse songsmith who is unafraid of fusing her new country sound with elements of dirty americana, playful jazz and fiery pop.

The accusation laden Dirty Laundry keeps the feisty diva at the fore, while the explosive Church Bells has #1 single written all over it. While Heartbeat is a pretty enough mid-tempo, it gets lost in the build up to the aforementioned Smoke Break.

Fusing Janis Joplin, Shania Twain, Joan Jett and mid-period Christina Aguilera on the truly awesome Choctaw County Affair, Underwood delivers the finest song of her recording career to date and shows that for crossover success and international superstardom, there is no need compromise on your genre-leaning.

In the wake of Choctaw Country Affair, the pretty ditty Like I'll Never Love You Again plays it far too safe to make any real impression and would have been more suited to once of Underwood's first two releases. As the forceful Chaser and super catchy Relapse hit the right notes, it is with the demanding Clock Don't Stop that Underwood wants again shakes up the formula and strikes gold. Allowing herself a chance to really show off her vocal tricks, she really shines.

With The Girl You Think I Am providing the album's only skip ahead moment, Underwood packs a punch on Mexico before closing the album with the blissfully happy What I Never Knew I Always Wanted.

Storyteller marks a real departure for an artist who has reached a pivotal point in her career. Realising that if she didn't take a risk at this stage, she would get stuck in one gear, Underwood revved it all the way up to fifth for what proves an exciting, addictive listen.