Erica Sunshine Lee with Kellie Morlock on KHMB’s Coastside Carousel

By Chris Yow [email protected]

Posted Aug 28, 2017 at 11:18 AMUpdated Aug 28, 2017 at 11:21 AM

When Erica Sunshine Lee releases an album, the only question is not whether it will be full of great songs or not. The question is how good will the songs be?

The latest release from Lee is a Caribbean-vibe, Jimmy Buffet-infused country gold mine.

The only complaint is it was probably released a little late in the year. The summer song anthems “I’m a Pirate,” “Redneck Riviera” and “Mojitos” would have been must-listen music over the last two months. Though “Pirate” was released as a single earlier this year.

Nonetheless, the boot-tapping, feel-good tunes just flowed from Lee’s incredible songwriting mind.

This, her 8th studio album, is just further proof the hardest working woman in country music refuses to stop being a genius. Rarely lauded for her work in bigger circles, she’s built a strong contingent of fans from Key West to San Francisco. We know this because that’s the two cities where she plays about half the year.

While “Buried Treasure” is full of island-infused music, Lee doesn’t leave her traditional/90s country sound off the album. She knocks it out of the park with both “You’ve Got Me” and “Like A Record”.

She has a way of making a neo-country sound transform into something a fan of Pam Tillis or Faith Hill would love, while also making women who love Lauren Alaina or Miranda Lambert enjoy the songs as well.

In her album’s final track, she included a song released long ago as a single entitled “I Do”. If you think it sounds like a wedding song — it is. And the best part is it’s a really good wedding song. No question it’s appropriate for any wedding march or first dance.

All-in-all, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better, more diverse album than this one right now.