Arizona, Shedd’s debut with New Granada Records and fifth full-length recording, presents the slowcore songstress with guitarist, James Tritten, as an acoustic duet. As Shedd reports in the opening lines, Arizona is a walk “down memory lane” and “may take you by surprise,” but leaves you with a yearning to be “near the ones (you) love.” Tracy Shedd’s competence displays a wisdom far beyond her years, and is evidence to her growing popularity as an American songwriter.

Stripped of all things percussive, distorted, and nearly anything digital, Tracy Shedd’sArizona is a first for the multi-instrumentalist on many accounts. Most notably, Shedd herself is the cover star; photographed by Emily Wilder, who was also responsible forBlue (Teen-Beat 312) and Cigarettes & Smoke Machines (Teen-Beat 442). Arizona is Shedd’s acoustic premiere, something fans have desired for years. The husband/wife duet not only delivered unplugged, they left the guitar picks at home and plucked away with bare hands for added simplicity. Arizona offers Shedd’s interpretations of work by two of her favorite artists for the first time on a full-length album (“Candy” by The Magnetic Fields and “Teenage Riot” by Sonic Youth) displaying Shedd’s keen sense of respect and ability to maturely employ such masterpieces.