The first thing that stands out about Clayton Knight’s new collection of 13 original songs is the broad landscape the songs inhabit and explore. “They came to me over a long period, almost five years,” he says, “and they reflect a lot of different places and moods that I passed through.” Love, grief, acceptance, and hope are here, mixed with a wink and a touch of irony, and chased by rousing instrumentals. Musicians from Knight’s 2012 release, Runs Real Good, return—Annie Staninec’s stellar fiddle and banjo, John Kael’s solid banjo and upright bass, and Ivan Rosenberg’s transcendent dobro—and are joined by Jonathan Trawick’s guitar and a superb performance by Amy Hakanson’s nyckelharpa. Masterfully engineered and mixed by Dean Baskerville, the ensemble sounds warm, authentic, and intimate. Here’s what listeners say: “ Really enjoying the songs because they speak to a great deal of my youth growing up in the country.” “If you made no more CDs, this would be enough.” “I think the songs in which you get down to the deep feelings are powerful and moving. You get to have it both ways.”