Just over two minutes into 'Wooden,' the second track from Sarabeth Tucek's Get Well Soon, a crash of distorted guitar quickly demolishes any remaining doubts that this might just be another pretty, inoffensive album from a mundane singer-songwriter. It's a moment of catharsis that is rendered more effective by the relatively sparse instrumentation to be found elsewhere on the record, particularly as it follows the impossibly fragile lament 'The Wound and the Bow,' which is just barely held together by delicately plucked acoustic guitar.

The arresting contrast of the album's opening songs indicates the balance present throughout, with Tucek venturing into several different musical territories from her strong root in Neil Young and Dylan-influenced folk rock. Her striking voice also manages to balance divergent elements; the strong and slightly husky tone found on cuts like the lovely rocker 'State I Am In' is never too far from the vulnerable cracked vibrato which occasionally breaks through the touching 'A View.'

The latter aspect of the singer's voice is often particularly apt on a collection of songs that mourn the death of Tucek's father. As might be expected, such a theme can make for difficult listening; however, the refreshingly naked and unsentimental lyrics on tracks like 'The Doctor' ("cut from me the part of him that was so mean and cold") are more often emotionally engaging and rewarding than draining. There is also a deft understatement, both sonically and lyrically, which means Tucek avoids sounding overwrought. This restraint is used to great effect on the aforementioned standout 'A View,' which sees a simple acoustic melody and soft keyboard drone supplemented by a single, mournful electric guitar note that fades in and out behind the singer's soft delivery.

Unfortunately, the simple components of many songs here are not always employed in such an interesting way. There is an undeniable sag in this album's middle section; 'Smile For No One' and 'At the Bar' drift along pleasantly enough, but after repeated listens fail to make much of an impression. Indeed, the former veers slightly too close to middle-of-the-road pop-country for comfort, a disappointment after songs like 'Wooden.'

The finale of the record more than redeems the album from any mid-section slump, though, as Tucek delivers her most straightforward and devastatingly effective song yet in title-track 'Get Well Soon.' Backed only by her guitar and a subdued keyboard melody, the aching tenderness of Tucek's voice pierces the listener through as she mourns, "crying to the gardener - underweight - in the street - hot with grief / Begging please don't cut my trees." Ultimately, this is why Sarabeth Tucek stands out among swathes of similar contemporaries - Get Well Soon breathes a kind of emotional resonance unlikely to be found elsewhere.