Titling an album The Heartbroken Record is a bold move, setting up listener expectations before the first song even starts. But Lauren Watkins is an assured artist, and this full-length debut from the Nashville native is anything but cautious. Watkins tapped Music Row favourite Joey Moi (ERNEST, MacKenzie Porter) to produce the record, which she released through a partnership between Big Loud Records and Songs & Daughters, the latter a project launched by songwriter Nicolle Galyon to highlight women artists in country. The Heartbroken Record opens with “Leavers Leave”, on which it’s Watkins herself fleeing the scene in search of “another smoky bar” and a “lost highway”. “Gatlinburg” is a sweet and clear-eyed ode to the East Tennessee tourist mecca, which Watkins dubs a “poor man’s paradise”. And “Too Much to Dream”, which closes the project, cleverly plays on the idea of a hangover, though instead of too much booze, it’s “too much to think, too much to sleep”. Guests on the album include Sheryl Crow and Ashley Monroe.