Born in Tennessee, but now based in New England, singer/songwriter Michelle Saylors may be a relative newcomer, her debut album, Hit the Creek, reflects the clear confidence of an artist ready to make her mark in the mainstream. Saylors not only takes centerstage throughout — sharing her skills on vocals, guitar, bass, and percussion — but also takes responsibility for composing each of the ten tracks, showing that she has both the verve and vision to bring her music to full fruition. Clearly adept at operating in sync within today’s country confines, he eschews any hint of an artificial edifice, and instead makes music that’s rousing and affecting in equal measure. No matter whether it’s the quiet caress of “West Virginia” and “My Side of the Bay,” the assured sounds of “I’ll Leave My Footprint” and “Lover and Devotion,” or the down-home designs of “Nowhere Sound,” each song manages to make an immediate impression. Comparisons to Emmylou Harris, Roseanne Cash or Carlene Carter might seem inevitable given the fact that Saylors operates within the same spheres, but even so, that doesn’t negate the fact that she’s an expressive artist all on her own.