Although Kate Earl’s 2009 eponymous sophomore album displayed impressive gospel harmonies and slick production, her aptly titled third album, Stronger, is just that. With a return to the rootsy folk style of her 2005 debut, Fate Is the Hunter, everything here sounds stronger. With ample help from Brett Dennen and Blake Mills, the songs here resonate with the sunflared, backlit, Southern California–style tones of '70s AM radio. The opening title track balances this homespun familiarity with a warm and earthy mix that’s perfectly suited for Earl’s vocal style, recalling Joni Mitchell by way of Chan Marshall. The amorous folk-pop tune “One Woman Army” reveals its catchiness before the sing-along chorus chimes in, while “I Don’t Want to be Alone” channels the musical spirits of Laurel Canyon’s bygone heyday. Layered over a twangy slide guitar, the harmonies in this one recall those on Linda Ronstadt’s 1974 solo album Heart Like a Wheel. The standout cut “California” adds another West Coast anthem to the seemingly endless canon of Golden State songs, but this one emits sardonic slivers of self-deprecation.