Juliana Hatfield - How To Walk Away

“Juliana Hatfield is well within her comfort zone on “How to Walk Away,” her second album for self-started record label Ye Olde Records. The 10 tracks hit an enjoyable middle ground between the squeaky-clean sound of 2004’s “In Exile Deo” and rough and grungy 2005 set “Made in China.” Hatfield does her moody, catchy indie-pop to near-perfection after so much practice (nine solo albums during the past 16 years), and entertaining examples abound here, from uplifting first single “Shining On” to the rugged, jangly “This Lonely Love,” which features backing vocals by the Psychedelic Furs’ Richard Butler. Less scintillating is the murky “Just Lust,” which couples a laid-back guitar riff with simplistic lyrics. But breezy closer “Law of Nature” and the gentle heartbreaker “My Baby” pleasantly bring to mind the youthful, exuberant sound of Hatfield’s 1995 album “Only Everything.” —Troy Carpenter”