On July 5th I was fortunate enough to go with my friend Natasha to San Deigo for Verizon's VIP tour. Starring Natasha Bedingfield, the Veronicas, and upcomer Kate Voegele it was a wonderful evening.

Next was The Veronicas. I had seen the duo perform before at The Roxy in which, if you read that blog I wasn't too keen on. Now let me just say I love their music and all of their videos and performances that I see on youtube and t.v. and I even went and paid $18 dollars for their c.d. to be shipped since it isnt sold in most retail places in California. So with that said, I consider myself a decent fan but as much good things that I can say about their two c.d.'s I can't say about their performance. They came on the stage for a 24 minute set and didn't carry an energy in their performance. Songs jumped from one to another with maybe a minute at tops (and I'm being generous) of them talking to the crowd. There was little eye contact, less of a performance, and constantly Lisa had trouble with her mic going out and not working, as well as the two of them whispering in eachothers ears.

After their set, Natasha and I went and left our good spot in the crowd to go meet the girls since they said although it wouldnt be for long that THEY would meet their fans in the back, we waited about 10 minutes for just Lisa to show up. Lisa was an absolute doll and really sweet but we were not allowed to take pictures with her or talk for more than just one question before we were moved along. Jess never came out to greet the many fans that were there for them which was unfortunate because she is an amazing talent as well and I wish people that were just being introduced to their music for the first time could have seen that. All in All they performed a decent set, I loved all of their songs but for the second time seeing them it would have been nice to have them interact with the crowd more and work on those stage issues such as mic's and the background tracks not overpowering their live performance.

The final performance of the night was by the gorgeous and tallented Miss. Natasha Bedingfield. While I can't say I know many of her songs as well, I was blown away by her performance and became an instant fan. Her presence and energy from the first to last song was fully present, she constantly engaged in the crowd, dedicating songs to couples and singing for the single ladies in the audience and giving props out to the gents that were chanting in the right hand side. She took the time in between every single song to talk to the group of us about America and her experiences here and taking every chance to thank us for coming. Nothing about her came off as fake, it was all positive energy that radiated into everyone in the audience. Singing her multiple hit singles including Pocketful of Sunshine, These Words, and countless others everyone joined in and was dancing throughout her set in full. She even came back for three more songs after her set ended for encores including Madonna's Ray of Light which was spectacular and made the gays especially happy. I can't say enough positive things about her performance and I encourage everyone to become aquainted with her music (legally) and if you get a chance to see her live go see her- you wont regret it.

The VIP Tour all in all was an amazing experience and well worth the price tickets were going for. Complete with three sets full of "Girl Power", meet and greets, green stages to film your own video singing along side the ladies, t.v.s in every corner showing a front row view of the concert, texts desplayed of audience members writting about eachother and games near the meet and greet tables, it was a full package deal and far beyond what I had expected. A music festival packed into HOB is more like it, and I've gained appreciation for two new artists along with lifetime memories.

I haven't start New Moon yet but i do have the book and its just sitting there on my desk waiting for me to pick it up and read it already  I think i read half of like chapter one which isn't that good concidering i got the book a couple of days ago. 

Looking for good music to listen to.  Everything on itunes and the radio all sound the same anyways.  Do any of the artist write anything meaningful anymore?  Uhhh recent song being listened is Wish You Were by: Kate Voegele.  Something peaceful, contemporary.  Not the most livelest beat but not totally boring lol  The song's about loving someone and then finding out they're not the same person you fell for and who hasn't gone through something like that these days? lol  Kate Voegele was on One Tree Hill playing the role of MIa.  A shy girl from a band and finally stood up for herself and started a solo career (The episode with K-Fed)  If you haven't checked out her CD by now most of her songs are pretty good and most of them were on the show season 6.

And then click here to download it!

In no particular order:

10: From the song Courage is by The Strange Familiar

        Courage is when you're afraid, 
       But you keep on moving anyway
       Courage is when you're in pain, 
       But you keep on living anyway

9: From the song One Way or Anotherby Kate Voegele

     Well excuse me for wanting to be 
     The one and only lock that fits your key

8: From the song  Belovedby 10th Avenue North

    You're my beloved
    Lover I'm yours
    Death shall not part us
    It's you I died for
    For better or worse
    Forever we'll be
    Our Love it unites us
    It binds you to me
    It's a mystery

7. From the song  Can't Have You by Jonas Brothers ( You knew there would be at least ONE from them, come on!)

     Cause I'd rather just be alone
     If I know that I can't have you

6. From the song Closer by Ne-yo

     Turn the lights off in this place and she shines just like a star

5. From the song Disturbia by Rihanna

     Put on your green lights
     We're in the city of wonder
     Ain't gonna play nice
     Watch out, you might just go under
     Better think twice
     Your train of thought will be altered
     So if you must faulter be wise
     Your mind is in disturbia
     It's like the darkness is the light
     Disturbia
    Am I scaring you tonight
    Your mind is in disturbia
    Ain't used to what you like
   Disturbia 
 

     I feel like a monster

4. From the song Dreaming with a Broken Heart by John Mayer

     Now do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hands

     Would you get them if i did?
     No you won't, 'cause you're gone, gone, gone, gone, gone....

3. From the song  I'm yoursby Jason Mraz

     Well open up your mind and see like me
     Open up your plans and damn you're free
     Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love

    Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing
    Were just one big family
    And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love love

2.  From the song  Got A Hold On Me by Hanson

     You've got me wrapped up in your cancer
     But I'm not quite what you thought I'd be

1.  From the song Best I Never Had by Mark and James

     And I cant be sad becuase you're the best I never had

This is just a very small sampling of favorite song lines. I have tons! Feel free to share lyrics that touch your heart!

To say the least, both are given such huge exposures that a whole episode - and two or more episodes for Kate - was devoted to them. I've checked out YouTube and many people commented on how these two artists wouldn't have been "discovered" (more like shoved into the glaring limelight) without the help of OTH.

But I'd like to focus this entry to Kate Voegele. Her website introduces Kate like this:

The musical landscape is teeming with singer/songwriters, many of them quite capable, but only a handful have something truly distinctive to offer. Kate Voegele belongs in the latter category. Don't Look Away, Voegele's first full-length album (MySpace Records), is a revelation...

My first thought upon hearing her, "Ok she sounds JUST LIKE Michelle Branch." Her song has that distinct Country twang, she plays excellent guitar, and her voice is deep and soulful like Branch.

But I think what sets Kate from Michelle is her songs. Yes, they do have the same Country/Acoustic/Alternative Rock approach to it, but Kate's songs are raw. They talk about love, live, and everything between.

My favorite song in the album is "Wish You Were." The song is painful but the melody is happy (in a way). There's something very honest in her words, like when she sings "It's Only Life," which is another favorite of mine.

People have commented that Kate's music was nothing special. But I think she deserves a chance. If you haven't heard/seen her, take a look at this YouTube video:

===

I was true as the sky is blue
I couldn't soon say the same for you
So now I find denial in my eyes
I'm mesmerized by the picture that's in my mind

Kate is one of my favorite singers. Number 1, she was also on a cheesy, but teen appealing drama, One Tree Hill. Number 2, her lyrics aren't just the choruses rehashed, with accompanying beats, but real, from within and not overly sentimental.

Teens have their depressed days, their hyper days, their moody days. These mood swings affect girls (eh hem...PMS) more than boys. During this period (no pun intended), we feel exigently strong, independent. We KNOW that we can't survive without our parents and need them to lift us up, but its as if the moment they do, we throw the away from ashes to flames, back to ashes again. Pointless? Not really. We learn of the bonds between humanity, what ties us together, and even savagery and heartlessness. 

We've all felt the heartache, the burn, the pangs of jealousy and the green eyed monster. Who is it that lifts us? Who brings us out of our shell?

Maybe next time we're going to lash out at someone...think. first.

The Lyrics are Here
This road is anything but simple 
Twisted like a riddle I’ve seen high and I’ve seen low 
So loud, the voices of all my doubts 
Telling me to give up, to pack up and leave town    

Even so, I had to believe 
Impossible means nothing to me, yeah 

So can you lift me up, 
Turn the ashes into flames 
‘Cause I have overcome 
More than words will ever say 
And I’ve been given hope 
That there’s a light on up the hall 
And that a day will come 
When the fight is won 
And I think that day has just begun 

Somewhere, every body starts there 
I’m counting on a small prayer, 
Lost in a nightmare 
But I’m here, and suddenly it’s so clear 
The struggle through the long years 
It taught me to outrun my fears 

Everything worth having, oh 
Comes with trials worth withstanding 

So can you lift me up, 
Turn the ashes into flames 
‘Cause I have overcome 
More than words will ever say 
And I’ve been given hope 
That there’s a light on up the hall 
And that a day will come 
When the fight is won 
And I think that day has just begun 

Oh, lift me up 
Oh, lift me up 
Oh, lift me up 
Lift me up 
Lift me up 
Oh, Lift me up 

Down and out is overrated 
And I need to be elevated 
Looking up is not enough 
No, I would rather rise above 

So can you lift me up, 
Turn the ashes into flames 
‘Cause I have overcome 
More than words will ever say 
And I’ve been given hope 
That there’s a light on up the hall 
And that a day will come 
When the fight is won 
And I think that day has just begun 

Oh, oh, oh, just begun 
Lift me up, yeah, oh, oh, oh, yeah, now 
Oh, oh, lift me up 
Lift me up 
Lift me up

So : Thank Goodness It's Sunday!

I have wanted to do this for a while so I am going to start it now. I know that in life sometimes it is so easy to focus on the negative that surrounds us. So my goal is to make a weekly list of the top 10 things that have happened or experiences in the past week. So here is #1:

In no particular order outside of when they pop into my head.

10.  I survived the anniversary of my mothers death. And it was a pretty good day!

9. My dad gave me $40 this week. I had asked him to deposit $20 so I could activate a remote I needed for one of my classes, and he put some extra in!

8. I did not have to work on Monday!

7. Angie, Josh, and the C3 band did an absolutely AMAZING job on Total Eclipse of the Heart this morning.

6. I got to be with Katie while she got to get her first tattoo, and it came out amazing!

5. I have had the awesome privilege to have some really great conversations with my roomies this week.

4. I got to participate in a book study, hosted by the lovely Andrea, about The Shack. We met some new people and heard some great perspectives!

3. I got to see Kate Voegele in concert again!

2. JESSIE CAME TO VISIT!!! and we had a Karen, Jessie,Phil reunion. It was amazing to have us together again :)

1. My "prayers" with God are turning more into conversations. I have been working really hard at that so it makes me happy to see changes.

So thats it. My first top ten of the week list. I hope everyone has an amazing labor day. Look for pictures from this weekend on Facebook within the next few days!

This road is anything but simple,

Twisted like a riddle, I've seen High and I've seen low.

So loud, the voices of all my doubts,

Telling me to give up, to pack up and leave town.

Even so I had to believe, Impossible means nothing to me,

So can you Lift Me Up?

And Turn the ashes into flames,

'Cause I have overcome more than words will ever say,

And I've been given hope that there's a light on up the hall,

And that a day will come when the fight is won,

And I think that day had just begun.

Somewhere, everybody starts there,

Counting on a small prayer, lost in a nightmare.

And I'm here, and suddenly it's so clear,

The struggle through the long years,

It taught me to outrun my fears.

And everything that's worth having,

Comes with trials worth withstanding.

So can you Lift Me Up?

And turn the ashes into flames,

'Cause I have overcome more than words will ever say,

And I've been given hope that there's a light on up the hall,

And that a day will come when the fight is won,

And I think that day has just begun.

Oh Lift Me Up, Lift Me up, Lift Me Up

Oh Lift Me Up, Llift me up, Lift Me Up, Oh

Down and out is overrated,

I need to be elevated,

Looking up is not enough,

I would rather rise above, Oh , Oh , Oh.

Chorus

Lift Me Up, Lift Me Up, Lift Me Up.

Full videos will only be released on 8th August. So sneak peek at the videos on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8WBpe2FKg&feature=related).

P/S: Kate Voegele is a must watch!

I've been idoling Kate Voegele for some time now, ever since her debut album release which i chanced upon in Amazon. Great music, great talent. Chicago's been my ringtone for ages and I'm still not sick of hearing her. She also played as Mia in One Tree Hill Season 5! Alrighty, here's the myspace video. Enjoy!

Kate Voegele, se puede considerar artista nueva, internacionalmente hablando, su carrera tiene varios años pero en estadios unidos, y salto a la fama por su grandiosa vos, y ademas actua muy bien, se la dio a conocer mas en la ultima temporada de la serie one tree hill como "mia" una chica under que es descubierta de casualidad, la verdad poco sabemos sobre su biografia o su vida eso es lo de menos, kate, tiene una preciosa voz, llama la atencion es bonita y ademas actua bien, estaremos mirando con atencion de lo que si todo sale bien para ella, podria ser una estrella en asenso, al contrario de britney spears que se estrello hace mucho, esta chica con su hermosa sonrisa.. da que prometer..

VER MAS!

E adivinhe com quem? Sim, a minha querida Kate Voegele, que ultimamente lançou um single (sim! tem clipe apesar de eu não ter gostado) com outra das minhas músicas favoritas (I Only Fooling Myself, muito boa mesmo). Mas como sou suspeito por adorar a voz desta mulher não vou ficar rasgando mais seda do que já fiz.

Pois bem, o post é sobre a música e não sobre a Kate... Se você realmente não a conhece devia dar uma procurada e buscar qual a sua versão preferida (se é que a música lhe agrada os ouvidos)... Originalmente foi gravada por Leonard Cohen, cantor Canadense... Porém existem dezenas de versões espalhadas por ae... por exemplo, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Seal, A-Ha, Ray Charles... Já bateu até recordes em rádios pelo mundo mais precisamente na Noruega.

Porquê escolhi essa música? Sem motivos... apenas como sempre, coisa de momento, vontade de ouvir de novo, que leva a um repeat e outro... agregado a um momento fossa... Hallelujah...

Mais uma vez eu penso: que diferença faz estar sempre ali ao seu lado ou ser essa pessoa que se preocupa com você? Estou desistindo, meu amigo... cada vez mais... E não adianta nem me procurar.... Estou aqui, só você não está vendo...

Kate Voegele - Hallelujah

I heard there was a secret chord
that David played and it pleased the lord
but you don't really care for music do ya
Well it goes like this the fourth the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
you saw her bathing on the roof
her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to a kitchen chair
she broke your throne and she cut your hair
and from your lips she drew the hallelujah.

Hallelujah,hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
You know, I used to live alone before I knew you
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
and love is not a victory march
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah,hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show that to me do you
but remember when I moved in you
and the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

Well maybe there's a god above
but all I've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah

Of course, once one has wasted three hours wandering through the internet what more is there to do but spend some more time there. So Black Unicorn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvRBbOhg3i4&feature=user), Band Marino (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5uqIWgxQmM), this girl who’s a rather excellent singer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xFBpTl4P5U&feature=user), Jason Mraz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu4P6AH-obc) who sounds a bit like Jack Johnson (and I’m not sure he’ll thank me for that) and Kate Voegele (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofcQy8SWZgE&feature=related) (and still I’d gained no depth to my personality so I lingered).

A lot less sleep for the next few days while I play catch up – yes. Some more money spent on albums (don’t you just love the instant purchasing that the internet now makes available to the weak willed) – yes. A day wasted – no, it's just a change from watching Firefly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbAaMbxdKG8&feature=related). Now, where are those pills that save me from sleeping?

Eric Hutchinson

Jason Mraz

Architecture In Helsinki

Meiko

Kate Voegele

Dustin Kensrue

[ DISC A ]

001 | THE RE-ARRANGER :: Mates of State [Kori Gardner]
002 | 15 :: Rilo Kiley
003 | NOT NOW BUT SOON :: Imogen Heap
004 | STAY (JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE) :: The Dø [Olivia Bouyssou Merilahti]
005 | FLY AWAY :: Indigo Girls [Amy Ray / Emily Saliers]
006 | LORD HELP :: Cat Power
007 | I COULD SAY :: Lily Allen
008 | HOLDING ONTO YOU :: Olivia Broadfield
009 | SOME THINGS JUST STICK IN YOUR MIND :: Vashti Bunyan
010 | NEW REDEMPTION SONG :: Over the Rhine [Karin Bergquist]
011 | ALL :: Kathryn Williams
012 | BEST FOR LAST :: Adele [Adele Laurie Blue Adkins]
013 | MAYBE TONIGHT :: Nicole Atkins
014 | MAGNETIZED :: Laura Veirs
015 | HIDING IN MY HEART :: Brandi Carlile
016 | GOING, GOING, GONE :: Stars [Amy Millan]
017 | PICTURES :: Sia [Sia Kate Isobelle Furler]
018 | ONLY YESTERDAY :: Taken By Trees [Victoria Bergsman]
019 | THINKING OUT LOUD :: Emiliana Torrini
020 | PAST IN PRESENT :: Feist [Leslie Feist]
021 | G.P.T. :: Martha Wainwright
022 | ORBITING :: The Weepies [Deb Talan]
023 | UNTITLED :: She & Him [Zooey Deschanel]

download .zip

[ DISC B ]

001 | ALMOST LOVER :: A Fine Frenzy [Alison Sudol]
002 | OVERBOARD :: Ingrid Michaelson
003 | NEW SOUL :: Yael Naim
004 | IF YOU WANT ME :: Marketa Irglova
005 | HEAVENLY DAY :: Patty Griffin
006 | SUMMER LONG :: Kathleen Edwards
007 | OVER YOU NOW :: Kate Rusby
008 | REASONS WHY :: Nickel Creek [Sara Watkins]
009 | WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN :: Emily Jane White
010 | LET MYSELF FALL :: Rosie Thomas
011 | JESUS WAS A CROSSMAKER :: Rachael Yamagata
012 | LET YOUR LOSS BE YOUR LESSON :: Alison Krauss
013 | TOP OF THE WORLD :: Kate Voegele
014 | FROM WHERE I'M STANDING :: Schuyler Fisk
015 | REASONS TO LOVE YOU :: Meiko
016 | REAL LOVE :: Regina Spektor
017 | LOVE AND LOVE AGAIN :: Jesca Hoop
018 | A DREAM :: Priscilla Ahn
019 | LOST IN NEW YORK :: Emma Tricca
020 | PAPER BAG :: Fionna Apple
021 | THIS IS ALL WE HAVE TO KNOW :: Helene
022 | I'M STILL BREATHING  :: Katy Perry
023 | NICEST THING :: Kate Nash
024 | DRAGONFLY :: My Brightest Diamond [Shara Worden]

Kate Voegele’s Vaunted Vocals

Aren't those just gorgeous? I mean, so Chuck Taylor-esque, yet so different. These Hi-top sneakers are from Raf Simons. Just ignore these post as you know, from time to time, I just insert a whimsical post about what I want to and feel like buying, and so far, once it appears on my blog, I have never bought it ever. So much for that dream, and I don't even know how much this pair of "dipped" shoes costs.

And also, from time to time, I also talk about music on my blog as you may already know. I am now taking a liking to Katy Perry, Christian girl-turned-rocker.

Her latest album "One of the Boys" have been getting a lot of attention on the Billboard Charts and Last.FM recently with her hit single "I Kissed A Girl" proving to be a bona-fide chart beater. Her music is reminiscent of Skye Sweetnam before her ill-fated second album with a tinge of an angst-filled Avril Lavigne plus a more rock-ish vibe. Other noteworthy tracks off the album are "UR So Gay" and the title song "One of the Boys".

Katy Perry is in a long line of near-Katy-named female artistes who I absolutely adore with the likes of KT Tunstall, Katie Melua, Kate Nash, and Kate Voegele before her. Yeah, just name your daughter Kate of some sort, make her sing, and you have a guaranteed fan in Wong Boon Ken. Coincidence, I assure you.

The lovely and ravishing members of The Near-Kate-Names Club, which Kate is which?

Rock-infused teens aside, The Do have also been a fixture in my recent playlist.

Their album "A Mouthful" is the epitome of pop and is one of my favourite pop albums of the year overall with "Stay" and "Playground Hustle" proving to be a pair of soothing and lovely songs.

Yeah I know, these sorta posts are self-indulgent, so sue me.

More self-indulgent posts next time, folks. I have to get back to campus now. Damn.

_______________________________________________________________________

Uncle Earl
Waterloo Tennessee ••••
Rounder

If you are searching for a single word to describe Uncle Earl then ‘energy' wouldn't be a bad place to start. Close in the running would be ‘harmony', and ‘integrity'. From the opening notes of ‘Black-Eyed Susie' it's apparent that this girl-group is something special. Theirs isn't the usual Girls Aloud world of push-up bras, thongs and stumbling out of the Ivy at two in the morning. The g'Earls' muse is somewhat more authentic. They're practically a next-gen bluegrass supergroup, bringing together the fiddle of Rayna Gellert and guitar/mandolin talents of KC Groves with Abigail Washburn's banjo and the guitar, fiddle and feet (yes, feet!) of renowned clog dancer, Kristin Andreassen. Individually, any one of these four accomplished musicians could command respect and admiration from their listeners. In combination, the effect is nothing short of awe-inspiring and, for that matter, foot-tapping too.

On this album all four further show their versatility by sharing vocal duties, and such is their understanding of the music that modern originals rest seamlessly alongside traditional tunes. And of course all of this is cosseted in the foursome's glorious vocal harmonies. Bluegrass and old-time music hasn't loomed large in the public consciousness since the year 2000 when the ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?' soundtrack made it temporarily flavour of the month. Uncle Earl are here to remind us just what we've been missing. In Waterloo Tennessee we encounter all kinds, from the infectious dance tunes of ‘Wish I Had My Time Again' to tender folk ballads like ‘My Little Carpenter' and ‘My Epitaph'. The performances are beautifully captured by the production skills of former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, which present a smooth and accessible sound that still preserves the energy, honesty and rawness that brings this type of music alive.

If you've never given bluegrass or old-time music a chance up ‘til now, there couldn't be a better introduction than Waterloo Tennessee, surely one of the most joyous and infectious albums you'll hear in 2007. Better still, catch the g'Earls live the next time they grace these shores. You won't regret it. You might even agree with Wears The Trousers that the time is finally ripe for a good ol' British bluegrass revival. Preach it, sisters.

Trevor Raggatt

_______________________________________________________________________

Laura Veirs
Saltbreakers ••••
Nonesuch

Nature girl Laura Veirs continues to move through the elemental album cycle she's engrossed in. After paying her tribute to fire, earth and sky, Veirs arrives at the seaside with her sixth album Saltbreakers. As well as the by now customary change of theme, it also represents a move away from the singer-songwriter feel and into a more spectral sound that's very much en vogue. This is shown most evidently on the light touch of the Feist-like ‘Pink Light', where Veirs sounds as if she's dancing on air as she sings, and on ‘Don't Lose Yourself' where she shows Imogen Heap just how to pull off the trick she's been attempting for a while now.

The whole album is beautifully played, constructed and sung, and is by far her best work to date, something that, at this far into a career, is a great achievement. There are plenty of deft touches to keep enough variation within the album to retain your avid attention. ‘Ocean Night Song' sounds like Kate Bush adrift in the Orient, ‘Drink Deep' is a dreamlike waltz and ‘Nightingale' is wonderful slumber pop that rouses itself now and again with gentle brushed drums and northern sounding horns.

A little call-and-response vocal play works well on a brace of tracks. The juxtaposition of her singing the single word of the title track and being met with a wordy response that barely squeezes into the line is delightful. ‘To The Country' simplifies the trick, but using a choral response means it's no less effective. Two other tracks are worthy of a mention - the upbeat ‘Phantom Mountain' which is as feisty as Juliana Hatfield and the gorgeous acoustic closing number, ‘Wrecking'.

This is a marvellous album - Veirs's best to date in fact - and more than worth its salt.

Russell Barker

_______________________________________________________________________

Kate Voegele
Don't Look Away ••••
MySpace Records

Jimmy Wales, whose foundation of Wikipedia effectively gave birth to the oft-analysed phenomenon of Web 2.0, famously said, "we make the Web not suck". Bear with those syntactically mangled words for a moment; Web 2.0 truly is a modern social leveller, a global forum where the talented, dumb and downright insane all have equal access to public consciousness. It is this equality of access that led to the foundation of MySpace Records, a label that aims to find the newest musical talent on the web via MySpace's overwhelmingly popular personal profiling site. To date its best achievement has been to sign Ohio-based singer-songwriter Kate Voegele.

A 21-year old Art Education student who quotes her influences as Eric Clapton, Jeff Buckley and Joni Mitchell - among others - Voegele is proof that for all the Web's inanities it can still uncover some truly phenomenal talent. Voegele's debut album, Don't Look Away, is a comprehensive showcase of her impressive skills as a singer-songwriter and maybe - hopefully - the start of a long career. Dominated by a belting voice clearly influenced by Sheryl Crow, Voegele's music takes in genres as varied as solid rock set pieces (‘Chicago'), Hammond-laden gospel blues fusion (‘Devil In Me') and refreshingly simple guitar pop (‘Might Have Been'), an eclecticism so wide ranging as to be remarkable for such a young artist.

In addition to its range of genres, the album's emotional range is also notable; ‘Might Have Been', a funky rock piece with a stadium-friendly appeal and classic sounding guitar riffs, could have come straight from T in the Park and is typical of Voegele's harder-edged work. At the softer end of the scale, ‘It's Only Life', which delicately combines a piano and glockenspiel ballad melody with a seemingly incongruous rock percussion, is Voegele's nod to Joni Mitchell's influence. Similarly, ‘Wish You Were Here' enables Voegele to tackle a mature and deeply poetic country song with the sophistication of kd lang and the passion of 1960s Dusty Springfield. Clearly, this girl doesn't want to be tied to any one genre, or to be compared with any one artist.

The most powerful piece on the album belies Voegele's understated yet clear passion for her Christian musical heritage (her father, Will, is a prolific writer of modern Christian music). ‘Kindly Unspoken', a theatrical combination of gospel-style piano riffs and Voegele's vocal power, clearly takes its influence from hymnal music and is by far the most sophisticated of her work. Reminiscent of LeAnn Rimes at her best, it is further proof, were any needed, that Voegele's talent is primal, compelling and astonishing.

All of which brings us back to Jimmy Wales's assertion about Web 2.0; Kate Voegele is one of those rare products of the Web that serve to make it "not suck". It is probably too much to expect many more artists of her quality to appear in the near future; for now Don't Look Away sounds like reasonable advice to anyone interested in Voegele's debut.

Andy Wasley

_______________________________________________________________________

Lucy Wainwright Roche
8 Songs EP •••½
Self-released

If musical talent is hereditary, Lucy Wainwright Roche is a lucky girl indeed; she is the daughter of Suzzy Roche, herself a member of a musical family, and Loudon Wainwright III - humourist, actor, singer-songwriter and progenitor of yet more musical magnificence in the form of the absurdly talented siblings Martha and Rufus Wainwright. Blessed with such a musical family, it should hardly be surprising that Lucy would eventually add her own voice to the melodic clamour.

Readers familiar with Roche's family and its members' various, often theatrical, musical styles will be surprised by the simplicity of 8 Songs, her debut EP. Roche has opted for a simple collection of guitar-and-voice songs whose influences vary from traditional Scots ballads to modern folk-rock. The traditional side is well represented by the beautiful Scots ballad ‘Wild Mountain Thyme'. Ranging from a husky alto to a soaring soprano, Roche's crystal-clear voice sweetly encapsulates the song's yearning for the ancient magnificence of heather-clad mountains and youthful adventures. The EP's second traditional ballad, the oft-interpreted ‘Barb'ry Allen', proves to be a perfect opportunity for Roche to show off her emotive voice a cappella as she laments the song's lovelorn characters with faultless, ethereal clarity.

For the modern songs, Roche has selected four of her own creations and two covers. Her ballad ‘Long Before' is a lovely blend of rich vocals and poetic lyrics, while the more sophisticated ‘Bridge' provides her with an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of her voice's emotional quality, sweeping effortlessly from a breathy storytelling intensity to a brighter and more melodic chorus. Fleetwood Mac's '80s classic ‘Everywhere' receives an interesting reinterpretation, while ‘Next Best Western', Richard Shindell's hymnal tribute to the faith and hope of travellers, is perhaps the album's best song.

All that said, 8 Songs is not without its faults. In attempting to find a unique style, Roche occasionally over-embellishes her voice with harmonic or counter-melodic layers. A lesser singer could make great use of such techniques, but in Roche's case they simply detract from her voice's elegance. ‘Rather Go', beset by needless enharmonic layers and a weak melody, does little to showcase her talents.

Although Roche has shunned the histrionics present throughout her family's various styles, her album is familiar Wainwright stuff - rich, intense and beautiful. Reminiscent of smoky fireside singalongs, 8 Songs marks the entry of a new force in modern folk. Keep an eye on her - if this short collection proves one thing, it's that Roche is just getting started.

Andy Wasley

_______________________________________________________________________

Dinah Washington
Evil Gal: The Imperious Dinah Washington ••••
El

In case you're wondering whether the world really needs yet another knock-off ‘best of' collection from jazz icon Dinah Washington - and let's face it, there really is no shortage of shoddily compiled releases - set your mind at ease for Evil Gal is different. For a start there's not a single one of her signature tunes; no ‘Mad About The Boy', no ‘Unforgettable', no ‘Call Me Irresponsible'...not even ‘What A Difference A Day Makes' rears its sumptuous head. Panic not, however, for straying from the well-beaten path proves much more rewarding than you'd expect.

Mining her later career, Evil Gal finds Washington in her 1950s incarnation, performing with smaller jazz combos rather than the large swing bands of Lionel Hampton and the like. Sitting squarely in the happy transition period between big band schmaltz, we find Dinah comfortably among piano and rich Hammond organ riffs with horns providing solo counterpoint, an endearing blend of soft bebop and distinct doo-wop influences in her vocal. Whatever the style, the constant is the quality of Washington's singing, and one thing's for sure - there isn't a single duff track to be found.

Even the quirkier pieces of fluff such as ‘One Arabian Night' ("don't rub your eyes / that's no surprise / it's a real-life camel in my garage") or ‘TV Is The Thing This Year' (channel surfing never sounded sexier!) have a charm that earns their place. However, the highlights are the standards scattered across the album - ‘Our Love Is Here To Stay', ‘Blue Gardenia', a great live version of ‘I've Got You Under My Skin' and the truly imperious eight minutes of ‘A Foggy Day In London Town' where the Queen of the Blues trades licks and lines with piano, trumpet, double bass and sax.

It's not for nothing that Dinah Washington is considered to be one of the greatest voices of the 20th century (and a great loss to music at only 39 years of age). The quality of the transfers throughout is outstanding, particularly considering these recordings are 50 years old. Other compilations may have more well known songs but Evil Gal is still a great introduction to an amazing singer who, alongside the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday, was a Girl Power heroine decades before Geri pulled on her Union Jack mini-dress. A sister doing it for herself indeed.

Trevor Raggatt

_______________________________________________________________________

Beth Waters
This Little Piggy ••••
Mermaid Mafia

I must confess that it took me a little while to get into Beth Waters third album, This Little Piggy...a full 39 seconds to be precise because that's when, after the brooding, unsettling opening of ‘White Dogs In The Moonlight', the first of Waters's gloriously luminous choruses kicks in. From that point on this reviewer was sold on this uplifting album. Whether it's self-realisation, commitment phobia, escaping from an abusive home or the road to self-destruction, Waters infuses her subject matter with rays of musical hope. And it's this ability to lift the song with an infectious singalong chorus that raises Waters above your average introspective singer-songwriter.

Across the 10 original numbers the standard of songwriting is uniformly high and ably matched by the musical presentation and the quality of the vocals. Stylistically, This Little Piggy is a diverse collection with audible influences ranging from the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Gemma Hayes to The Barenaked Ladies and, in one instance, Latin beats. This shouldn't be taken as indicating a lack of coherence or a butterfly mind. Rather, each song is linked through the silky and sensuous sound of Waters's voice and the production, which subtly merges traditional keyboards and rhythm section with well-placed electronica.

The songs on This Little Piggy mix immediately accessible melodies and multilayered complexity which rewards repeated listening and deeper investigation. One could use expressions such as 'mature', 'adult' or 'sophisticated'. but somehow that fails to capture the mixture of intelligence and enjoyment this collection grants the listener or their simultaneously intimate and cinematic scope. Previous Waters tunes have been picked up for TV soundtracks and one could imagine any number of these being used for the wistful section at the end of an episode of ‘Gray's Anatomy' where Meredith gazes out a rain-drenched window wondering if she ever will get her Doctor McDreamy.

Waters chooses to close the album with a couple of delightful curveballs. ‘Afraid Of Love' mixes lyrics exploring the dilemmas of love with a lounge bar bossa nova and cannot fail to raise a smile. What could have been a taste faux pas is instead a catchy tour de force. She follows this with a beautifully downbeat cover of Paul Simon's ‘Slip Slidin' Away', which eases the album to a mellow conclusion. One thing's sure, if This Little Piggy reflects the kind of output that we can expect from songwriters in 2007, the bad news for the competition is that Beth Waters has already set the bar perilously high.

Trevor Raggatt

_______________________________________________________________________

Simone White
I Am The Man •••
Honest Jon's

Advertisers' obsession with alternative folk music has become almost a cliché. First it was mobile phone ads taking up Vashti Bunyan and Devendra Banhart, but the past couple of years have seen left-of-centre folk whimsy deployed on commercials for everything from perfume to banks to televisions, and now cars. You'd recognise Simone White's ‘Beep Beep Song' instantly from the Audi commercial, it goes "Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep go the horns in the cars in the street / we walked away from the lovers leap". If this pleasing snippet has piqued your interest, before you jump into your hatchback to rush to the nearest record shop, have a read of this review.

The 13 tracks on Simone White's sophomore album are a collection of intimate minimal torch-song folk. With simple guitars, sparse percussion and sparing use of other instruments, White's voice is the star of the show. On the opening track ‘I Didn't Have a Summer Romance', the vocal is pure liquid autumn sunshine. A song as gently delightful as can be, it's a wistful take on the old saying that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. The instrumentation, while slight, is pleasingly part jangly folk and part jazz. Warm trumpets close out the song and lead into a gentle brushed cymbal percussion of ‘Worm Was Wood', the lyrics of which are jarringly, studiedly weird. "Worm was wood / the snail was an ocelot" smacks of trying a bit to hard to be quirky, although kudos to Simone for shoehorning an ocelot into a song.

While the instrumentation and production are pretty much faultless throughout the album, the songs themselves do occasionally leave a little to be desired. From the aforementioned studied weirdness to the almost trite Bush-bashing dissent of ‘The American War' and clunky anti-capitalism sentiment of ‘Great Imperialist State' (sample lyric: "I cannot kill my meat nor grow the food upon my plate / I've never walked a mile to the well". The mawkish expression of this song combined with the overly anguished strained voice is, and it pains me to say this, reminiscent of Dido.

Fortunately, for the most part, the intimate vocals are more akin to those of Hem's Sally Ellyson, Kathryn Williams or even, on the more affected occasions, Stina Nordenstam. However, the songwriting lacks the finesse of any of these acts and the undoubted vocal talent seems wasted on tracks such as ‘Sweetest Love Song' and ‘Only The Moon', on which White tells us that the "the one I love is like the moon, unattainable", which are lyrically and musically trite. It's a shame, because some tracks, the aforementioned ‘I Didn't Have a Summer Romance' and the delicately jazzy ‘Mary Jane' hint at a talent for storytelling that is otherwise untapped. And the title track, which closes the album, far more ably achieves what ‘Great Imperialist State' failed to do when she proclaims, "In my own government I am the president".

The heartening twilight-folk of I Am The Man should be perfect listening for long winter evenings by the fire with a loved one or for reminisces about the summer over a bourbon in a dimly lit bar. When you scratch beneath the surface some of the songs are lacking in substance, but the ambience created by White's vocal and the excellent musicianship pull the record through.

Peter Hayward

_______________________________________________________________________

Fiona Wight
The Last Rose •••½
Renaissance

You could be forgiven for thinking that Fiona Wight hailed from deepest Donegal. That's not the case, but this maid of Kent does have twin streams of music and the Celtic spirit running through her engine. And, though The Last Rose is strictly her debut album, she already has an impressive career tucked in her back pocket. Twice heralded as Choirgirl of the Year, best-selling classical soloist, featured singer with Irish chamber choir Anúna and first-call lead vocalist for the UK Riverdance company: the music on The Last Rose reflects all of these experiences.

The dozen songs on the album take in traditional folk tunes, songs by respected modern Celtic composers and tracks co-written with Riverdance musical director Cathal Synnott. The arrangements range from the sparse to the sumptuous, couched in both classical and traditional instrumentation. However, the spotlight remains on Wight's stunning soprano. Like the music, Wight's voice forms a perfect bridge between classical, traditional and modern. Possessed of a crystalline beauty and controlled poise, it rises to the challenge of the classical aria ‘Ave Maria' - albeit presented backed by Celtic harp. However, it contains none of the affectations that can make the bel canto such a struggle for the casual classical listener. Wight's approach is rather more straightforward; for all her impeccable technique the angelic qualities of her voice betray an emotional honesty so often missing from the classically trained.

Always, the voice is the focus for the listener - whether exposed on the Celtic breeze (‘My Lagan Love') or wrapped in Synnott's luscious string arrangements (‘A Blessing'). Each song orbits around a Celtic gravitational centre with whistle, uilleann pipes and harp never too far away, but occasionally Wight throws in some pleasing twists from the world music palette. Even that most British of traditional tunes, ‘She Moves Through The Fair', gets a new lease of life, transported to a sultry and ominous Seville, dripping with Moorish sensuality as Cora Venus Lunny's violin weaves a heady gypsy melody around the vocal. Olé indeed! Assured as it is, The Last Rose is thoroughly entrancing. A rare and delicate blossom.

Trevor Raggatt

_______________________________________________________________________

Lucinda Williams
West •••
Lost Highway

And so the woman with the voice that Emmylou Harris memorably described as capable of "peeling the chrome off a trailer hitch" returns with her eighth studio album. After years of lengthy gaps between recordings, Williams has become positively prolific since the release of 1998's classic Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (recently given the Deluxe Edition double-disc treatment), putting out Essence, World Without Tears and Live @ The Fillmore to ever increasing amounts of critical acclaim. For production duties on West she's roped in Hal Willner, best known for his work with the likes of Lou Reed and Marianne Faithfull, whose bruised 1987 album Strange Weather has been an avowed influence on some of Williams's recent music. (Indeed, at times Williams seems intent on turning herself into a Faithfull of the South, a weather-beaten, down-but-not-out 'survivor').

Willner's presence has led some critics to describe the new album as an exercise in experimentation, and it's certainly true that Williams is continuing to move away from the country/folk/blues-infused sounds of her earliest work into ambient rock territory. But, to these ears at least, West sounds less like an experimental record than a synthesis of her post-Car Wheels... output, favouring atmosphere over narrative, the 'universal' over the rooted and specific. And, unfortunately, like much of her recent work, the album fails to entirely cohere.

Backed by a sturdy group of musicians (Jenny Scheinman's violin-playing is particularly noteworthy), including regular collaborators Doug Pettibone (guitars) and Jim Keltner (drums/percussion), Williams traverses (overly) familiar thematic territory throughout West, focusing upon love, lust and loss, travel, time and memory. Opener ‘Are You Alright?' finds her at her most seductive and accessible, building an infectious melody around a series of heartfelt pleas to hear from an errant lover. Though marred by trite lyrics, the jaunty ‘Learning How To Live' is a more optimistic, less self-pitying break-up song than we've come to expect from her, tempering its regret with a healthy dose of country stoicism and the resolve to "make the most of what you left me with".

Elsewhere, ‘Fancy Funeral' could be a sombre companion piece to Kate Campbell's wry song ‘Funeral Food', with Williams offering a similarly critical analysis of Southern traditions and a gentle reminder that "no amount of rituals will bring back what you've lost". The fierce ‘Come On' (a cousin of World Without Tears's scabrous ‘Atonement') features a searing electric guitar part perfectly in sync with Williams's scary vocal and allows her to fulfil her post-Car Wheels... criteria of including one expletive per album. Finally, the title track closes proceedings on a truly gorgeous note of expectation. Perhaps reflecting Williams's optimism about her recent engagement, the song is an elegant invitation to a lover that manages to convey both the joy at the opportunity offered by a new relationship and a mature acceptance of its probable transience: "Come out west and see... / I know you won't stay permanently / But come out west and see".

In between, however, there are more than a few places in which West goes south. ‘Mama You Sweet', ostensibly about the death of Williams's mother, gets bogged down in would-be poetic imagery, while ‘Unsuffer Me' is a slightly embarrassing litany of desires featuring the torturous (and grammatically questionable) command "unbound my feet". ‘Rescue' flirts feebly with Beth Orton, and the wretched ‘What If' proffers a sequence of asinine speculations about a world in which "dogs became kings" and "birds had bank accounts". ‘Wrap My Head Around That' is even weaker, a dour inventory of complaints every bit as awkward as its title and stretched out over an excruciating nine minutes. After the similarly unconvincing ‘American Dream' on World Without Tears, what Williams really needs is a producer brave enough to tell her that rapping might not be such a great idea.

Listening to these tracks, it's hard not to feel that the increased speed of her output has resulted in an associated dip in quality, for, ever since Essence, the detailed, narrative elements of her songs have been replaced by more general statements, sometimes of a rather banal nature. Most problematic of all is her tendency to use a similar compositional style; in too many places on West she falls back on repetitious listing song structures that suggest she's been bitten by the Alanis Morissette bug. Those who make inflated claims for Williams as a great lyricist - a Faulkner or Welty of song - will have their work cut out trying to defend the repetitive structures employed throughout, not to mention some decidedly dodgy rhymes ("eyes" and "guys", "kid" and "did", "danger" and "stranger", "gum" and, er, "bum"). What's missing is the rich, vivid detail that characterised her earlier slice-of-Southern-life songs such as ‘The Night's Too Long' and ‘Car Wheels On A Gravel Road'. There's no "smell of coffee, eggs and bacon", no "Loretta singing on the radio" here.

With the lyrics tending toward the uninspired, it's left up to Williams's vocals to add complexity and nuance. Blessed with one of the most instantly recognisable voices in contemporary music, she sounds less mannered than of late here, and her elegantly weary slurring and snarling commands your attention even when the words let her down. While Williams's intention to shake off the traditional roots music shackles is admirable, it's a shame that she insists upon straying into areas in which she seems less than comfortable. Nonetheless, despite its shortcomings, West is a warmer, less abrasive album than World Without Tears and one that features some strong material.

Alex Ramon