BettySoo

If her first album since adding “Kerrville New Folk Winner” to her resume isn’t quite the revelation that Betty-Soo’s second album was, that’s only because 2007’s Little Tiny Secrets didn’t leave a whole lot of room for improvement. Heat Sin Water Skin adds producer Gurf Morlix to the mix — an inspired, left- field pick — but more than anything, this outing’s more of a reinforcement of the Spring native’s considerable strengths as a singer and songwriter than a radical change of pace. And that’s a compliment both to BettySoo and Morlix. BettySoo’s more Nanci Griffith than Lucinda or Ray Wylie, but she holds her own just fine under Morlix’s trademark gritty touch, and he respects the artist enough to let the beauty of her songs and voice carry the big stick. Sometimes their seemingly disparate styles collide in ways that show BettySoo can snarl convincingly when cornered (“Get Clean,” “Never Knew No Love”), but she still roars the loudest when she takes the beauty way: “What We’ve Got,” “Just Another Lover” and “Whisper My Name” all prove that a gorgeous melody and voice to match can be as devastating as a deep and dirty groove.