Katie Pruitt has embraced her “Brandi on a budget” characterization, but the Brandi Carlile comparison doesn’t quite do justice to Pruitt’s own power and storytelling. The Nashville songwriter’s third LP Fools for the Fleeting pulls back from the heavier guitar and rock orientation of 2024’s Mantras, though still strikes with her distinctly raw and personal perspectives of love and heartbreak and navigating a hostile world with an open heart. New Austinite via the Netherlands Judy Blank provides the opening soundtrack with her mix of pop sway and driving rock from last year’s Big Mood and new Spanish EP STAR VIVA. – Doug Freeman
