Why You Runnin'

Take a breather from holiday commercialism with Why You Runnin’, the new, wrenchingly sincere EP from Illinois singer/songwriter Lissie.

Echoing with folksy, Appalachian heart and flooded with the haunting sweetness of Lissie’s vocals (think Dolly Parton à la “Jolene”), Runnin’ sounds like an intimate, modern hymnal to love and the Heartland. Tracks like “Oh Mississippi” hum with Cat Power melancholy, while Lissie’s cover of Hank Williams’ “Wedding Bells” lopes along with a She & Him–style melody. Sweetly evocative, these songs bring some down-home soul to the season.