Full of polished yet personal songs about love, life, and the resilience that both require, Amber Lawrence’s sixth album, Happy Ever After, kept the Sydney singer/songwriter in good stead with Australian country listeners in 2016. While it’s easy to hear the lessons she absorbed from inspirations like LeAnn Rimes and Kasey Chambers, the instantly engaging likes of “Un-Complicate Me” and “Alright Alright Alright” showed a new maturity when it came to melodic songcraft, an asset that served Lawrence equally well in her fast-growing sideline career in children’s music. Yet, in spite of the album’s largely sunny disposition, grown-up concerns remain at the core of “Drive by Breakup,” in which Lawrence allows for a measure of hurt to creep into her bright, clear voice. There’s a similarly serious intent underlying “Cheers to the Girls,” a celebration of female empowerment performed alongside Fanny Lumsden and Catherine Britt.

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