She's worked with acts like Robbie Williams and Ellie Goulding, and first made waves with a cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness," but Elisabeth Corrin Maurus aka Lissie has, over the course of several EPs and two major label albums, carved a niche for herself as a distinctly American singer-songwriter.

Armed with a hewn voice and lyrical writing chops, Lissie's enjoyed critical accolades throughout her career. On latest album "Back to Forever," she veers away from her folk roots, but doesn't lose any of the honesty and imagery of her other efforts.

We had the chance to email Lissie some questions as she toured overseas. Keep reading for her thoughts on songwriting, media scrutiny, and hip-hop covers:

NT: The first song I ever heard by you was “In Sleep,” and I was immediately captivated by the guitar solo toward the end of the song. What first drew you to pick up the guitar, and what’s your favorite guitar solo/who’s your favorite guitar soloist of all time?

Thanks! I love that song! I've always loved to sing and write so I picked up the guitar initially to write songs. The solo in "In Sleep" on the record is by a guitarist named Paul Moat and live the lead guitar player in my band, Eric Sullivan plays it.  

I love the lead guitar in "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica and in "November Rain" by Guns n' Roses. My favorite guitar players are Kirk Hammett and Trey Anastasio.

ALSO READ: Trey Anastasio Charms with the LA Phil at Walt Disney Concert Hall

NT: If you had to pick up any other instrument, which would it be and why?

I'd like to be able to play lead on the guitar and also bass and drums better!

NT: Your new record “Back to Forever” is much bigger than your previous releases, and its musical style spans all over the place.  Did anything in particular push you toward the more ‘80s power stylings of tunes like “Further Away” and “Sleepwalking”?

I just write songs and give them the life I think they deserve. My producer Jacknife Lee brought a lot of his personality to the record and I would sort of just say yay or nay. My band came up with their own parts. So it was a group effort with me offering suggestions and approval.  

NT: You started out your career doing much more sonically intimate tunes – “Oh Mississippi” and “Everywhere I Go” are two of my faves off your last record. Do you find it easier or more difficult to write songs like those versus poppier, more instrumentally dense songs?

It's all dependent on my current mind set and mood. So it's not a question of difficultly level really. I think I have pretty varied taste and feel comfortable dabbling in many genres.

I like that in mixing it up so far it leaves me free to do whatever I want moving forward and not having to stick to one sound. I think as I move forward all styles are slowly merging into one unified "Lissie" sound :) 

NT: A lot of popular female artists have contentious relationships with the media (see Miley, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Lady Gaga). Do you feel a lot of pressure to put yourself out there, and if so, how do you resist it?

I think I'm a bit under the radar so that hasn't been an issue. I probably sabotage myself a bit career-wise to keep myself safe from that kind of bizarre scrutiny! 

NT: Do you still think there’s still a stigma out there against women in “serious” rock’n’roll, or have you largely avoided that kind of criticism?

Not necessarily stigma but I think there's still a trend towards male rockers being taken more seriously. And for women, we need to be soft and pretty so as not to appear "angry" or threatening. I think that's whack, so I guess that is a stigma?  But there's a lot of strong female music right now so maybe that's evolving. 

NT: As an American artist whose music draws a lot from our country’s rich folk heritage, do you feel an obligation to make your music sound more or less “American”? Do you think there is still a distinctly “American” sound out there?

I wish I could be that specific. I just write a lot if songs about how I feel and then depending on if I work them out with my band or another collaborator they take on a sound. I will say that my straight forward, hopefully "timelessness" to my music is probably influenced by my Midwestern upbringing. 

NT: How has traveling the world influenced your songwriting?

I'm exposed to a more well rounded view of human nature, culture and politics so I think it's opened my mind to this expansive world view that gives my writing objectivity 

NT: One of your first breakout tracks was a cover of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” – any chance you’ll be recording any more cross-genre tunes in the future?

We've been covering a Drake song. No plans to record it but I think covers will still be a thing we do moving forward. 

Lissie is playing at the Fonda Theatre on December 9 with Kopecky Family Band and Chase Cohl - tickets are still available here.

Read more of NT's interviews here.

Reach Music Editor Lilian Min here; follow her on Twitter here and on Google+ here.