Carly Pearce grew up on bluegrass, roots, and traditional country music, and the hallmarks of those genres have always found their way into her songs, though sometimes subtly. On this fifth album from the critically acclaimed country star, Pearce brings those influences to the forefront for her most assured, dynamic project yet. Co-produced by Pearce and Ben West (Ella Langley, Medium Build), Honest Woman channels an Alison Krauss or Lee Ann Womack record, pairing complex, largely acoustic arrangements with the vivid narrative songwriting for which Pearce has come to be known. To boot, Pearce and West lined up some of Music Row’s finest players for the LP, including award-winning Jeneé Fleenor on fiddle, Jerry Roe on percussion, Bryan Sutton on acoustic guitar, and Byron House on upright bass. Collaborators on the album lean to the rootsier side, too, with bluegrass multi-hyphenate and former Union Station member Dan Tyminski playing both acoustic guitar and mandolin on the heartache ballad “Who’s Lying Here” as well as performing on “What If You Loved Me,” which also features vocals, guitar, and banjo from newgrass virtuoso Molly Tuttle. Other highlights include Pearce’s hit Riley Green collaboration “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay,” a clever duet about a struggling situationship, and “He Don’t Like My Dogs,” a feisty, relatable rejoinder to the kind of man even a dog can’t trust.