IRIS DeMENT”My Life” Warner Bros.* * *...

IRIS DeMENT

“My Life”

Warner Bros.

* * * 1/2

Good news: The disarming sincerity that made DeMent’s 1992 debut, “Infamous Angel,” so enchanting is equally abundant on its successor. Proof that the sweet country girl isn’t always seduced by fame and fortune along the road from the farm (in DeMent’s case, the tiny Philo folk label) to the big city (media giant Warner Bros.).

The songs may be more consistently somber here, but they’re no less keenly observed. The Arkansas-born, Southern California-reared singer-songwriter sketches lives as vividly as Randy Newman and John Prine.

“Easy’s Gettin’ Harder Every Day” is such an exquisite eulogy to love that’s passed away that you want to nominate it for a literary Pulitzer and a Grammy. Only fleetingly--as in the chorus of “No Time to Cry”--does she cross the line separating honest self-revelation from self-pity.

Her old-timey sound, blending traditional country, bluegrass and gospel, is intact as well--no surprise, since virtually all the “Infamous Angel” musicians and technicians are back.

Nor is it really surprising that when it came time for Iris DeMent to move uptown, she wouldn’t leave her values behind.

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