Dana Kurtz writes songs that commit fully to the truth. Four years since her last album of original material, Kurtz returns with Rise and Fall. In the interim, her father died, her marriage failed, and she found a new relationship to sustain her belief in love and life. Highlights here include “The Hole,” where she expresses the thoughts that came to her as she dug the hole for her father’s ashes, “If I Go First,” where she uses the seasons to relate to an unthinkable sadness, and “You Will Always Live Inside of Me,” where more thoughts of eternity take center stage. This isn't for the faint of heart.