Five years have elapsed since Shannon Lay’s last album of original songs, and in the interim, the Los Angeles musician has been studying the proverbial blade. She reinvented the classics, and now she’s reinvented her sound, journeying from earthy folk to songs that leapfrog across influences. Lay’s voice is the rope that lassoes Past the Veil, with its menagerie of influences and references, into a sense of cohesion. 0.0Some choices stray a bit too far from the immediacy of Lay’s voice and melodies, and in doing so, the sound gets muddied. Spiritual philosopher Alan Watts is mentioned in Past the Veil’s press release, and Lay imbues these axioms with profundity like only the best teachers can.