The heart and soul of Cat Ridgeway’s new album is tattooed on her right forearm. It’s an image of a check engine light, the dashboard indicator that there’s something wrong, maybe seriously wrong, with your vehicle’s engine.

On Ridgeway’s arm – and on that album, Sprinter – it’s a tribute to a good friend who lost her battle with mental health and a reminder not to ignore the warning signs in yourself or others.

That metaphor animates the title track, which kicks off the album with a blizzard of buzzing guitars before settling into a bass-led lope of a tale about a person who seems to have it together, but maybe not quite. It builds to a cathartic, anguished wail: “Were you just too proud? / Was I just too loud?” And then a regretful coda: “I wish you reached out, and I wish I had reached in.”

It’s a stirring start to an album that’s peppered with surprises, substantial in lyricism and musically adventurous. While Ridgeway’s first two albums leaned Americana, this one rocks a little harder and bites a little deeper, a joyous explosion of alternative and indie rock.

Lucy Dacus (whose new album coincidentally also drops March 28) provided some early feedback on “Cursive,” Ridgeway says in the album notes. And the song is quite Dacus-like, with a lovely melody, dramatic crescendo and keen self-awareness. It’s a love song from a motormouth who can’t quite express her love in words to a quiet, self-confident lover. “And I have to sing it to say what I mean and so / I love you, and I’m letting you know.” Simply lovely.

“Epilogue” may stand as the best bonkers, punk-banjo anthem this side of the Dropkick Murphys, while “What If” pairs a hard synth melody with a two-gummy imagining of alternate worlds.

“Get Well Soon” is a stereo-blasting, summer-drive confection, all soaring “hoo-ooos” and pogoing bassline. A hint of Fleetwood Mac pervades the floaty melody and traveling-jones ramble of “Restless Leg Syndrome,” about how sometimes the road feels most like home.

“Forced Actors”? Well, that’s a wild-ride kaleidoscope of a song. After gently chiming guitars and delicate vocals shift into a mildly menacing synthesizer part, Ridgeway tucks in a pinch of ‘70s Laurel Canyon melody and then just hits the turbo-boosters into, what, an industrial Sabbath/Zeppelin alloy? Hell, yeah.

After all that, the sunny chiffon of “Posture” closes the album like an after-dinner mint.

The album drops March 28. Ridgeway will be hitting the road later this spring with her band, the Tourists, for a string of club dates. Catch one if you can – she's a dynamic performer with a killer band.

Sprinter shows a young artist blossoming, finding her voice and expressing it with confidence and pride. I can’t wait to see where she goes next.

Find out more about Cat Ridgeway at the links below: