These 10 songs seem to have burst out of Ferrick, who launched her career in Boston. On the rocking openers, "Burn This Guitar" and "Shatter Me," her singing and frenetic acoustic-guitar strumming are so impassioned and hard-focused, they’re almost overwhelming. Even when she slows down on "Back in Love," her narrow-ranged but powerful voice pushes the choruses hard.

Yet it’s not overkill. The raw self-examination of her lyrics makes it obvious that she’s lived every verse. And her intensity never lags, not even on the one track where she’s telling a story about someone else — "Marie in the Middle," the tale of a friend’s fatal drug overdose. Ferrick has also become an accomplished electric-guitarist since her Boston days; she punctuates her arrangements with an occasional roar of licks and squalls. The album does end peacefully, with the acoustic-guitar-and-drums treatment of "Thinking," which contemplates the difficulty of ending a failing relationship. If you don’t like confessional songs, this isn’t for you; if on the other hand you’ve a yen for examining the small cracks in human nature, Ferrick’s inner microscope and zesty, skillful performing style are perfect.

(Melissa Ferrick plays Axis tonight, May 8. Call 617-262-2437.)