Like a country road, Molly Maher's music takes the long way home

A not-always-visible force on the Twin Cities music scene, singer/songwriter Molly Maher wears many hats — talent booker, guitar tech, production manager, guitar-shop staffer, teacher and recording artist.

This spring Maher released "Follow," her first album in nine years and fourth studio effort. It's an alluringly organic, relaxed album that sounds like skilled musicians grooving together on a street in Mexico — and someone pressed the "record" button. Some selections, like "On the 18," are more like jams with an ambient radio in the background. Others are full-fledged songs that could be filed under Americana, folk or pop.

Nature flows through "Follow" as Maher waxes about a bird, a storm cloud and the open road.

"When I'm driving, I'll sometimes take the long way just to listen to music a little bit longer, just to let my head air out," said the former mainstay at Nye's and the Aster Café. "Right now, with what we're going through, it's a unique opportunity to stop, slow down and reset."