CD REVIEWS

COUNTRY. Iris Dement - My Life. (Warner Bros.): Just as country music starts to sound more like rock-and-roll and folk music becomes a liturgy for the Church of Political Correctness, Iris Dement is bucking the trend. In her second album, Dement evokes the gentle mix of emotions one gets by breezing through a family photo album: the confident faces of a young couple, the trust of their children. The real delight here, in simple acoustic songs like ``Sweet Is the Melody'' and ``Easy's Gettin' Harder Every Day,'' is the unmistakable voice of Dement, a clear, yet rough-edged soprano that never gets sappy.