Feature: Iris DeMent @Country February 1997 by Craig Harris Acoustic folk and country music are merged through the songs of Iris DeMent. In the past, critics have compared the petite, blonde songstress to The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and Loretta Lynn. With her third album, The Way I Should, DeMent adds electric instruments and rock and pop influences to create a more modern sound. A factor in DeMent’s evolution has been her growing interest in the music of Merle Haggard,…