Life in a Beautiful Light, the third studio outing from Amy Macdonald, finds the Scottish singer/songwriter applying her refreshingly unhindered brogue to a heartfelt, 12-song set that blends the stadium-baiting wail of fellow countrymen Broken Records and Frightened Rabbit, with the folk-inflected, adult alternative pop of James Blunt and Brandi Carlile. Things get off to a grand start with the spirited "4th of July," an open-road-ready, horn-laden, four-chord love letter to a weekend fling that's equal parts Springsteen and Tunstall, with a little bit of the Proclaimers tossed in for good measure. ~ James Christopher Monger
