Si comme nous, vous aviez suivi les dernières récentes nouveautés musicales féminines, vous n’auriez certainement pas manqué ce “Love Song” entêtant qui a le pouvoir de vous téléporter dans une irrépréssible rêverie. C’est le titre de l’album de Sara Bareilles, Little Voice, que nous suivions depuis un moment (voir article de calls-to-nothing.com de l’année dernière).

St Louis based vocalist Erin Bode is in upbeat mode on her fourth album The Little Garden, her debut CD for independent Missouri label Native Language.

She has brought an intriguing variety of direct or indirect influences to the table, ranging from Norah Jones, Eva Cassidy, Nancy Wilson and Joni Mitchell creating a full sound that never comes off as overdone with her little sublime voice and unique phrasing slipping beautifully into the band’s jazz-folk vibe.

Review by Suzi Steffen

Sultry, poppy, jazzy, like a younger Tori Amos with less focus on sex and more on words, Shannon Curtis inspires more adjectives and adverbs than good writing manuals allow us to put in the paper. The L.A. Times apparently called her “the love child of Fiona Apple and Norah Jones,” which seems a bit over the top yet close to the target. Curtis’ piano playing and her torchy voice make songs like “Wasted” a risky proposition during the workday (much less during a workout): One listen, and you’ll want to be lounging at Luna or Davis’, shot glass in hand and air of sophisticated desperation emanating from your too, too realistic dissipation. “My good sense is wasted when it comes to you,” she sings. OK, perhaps a hotel bar after an assignation comes to mind more than a Eugene jazz club. Now to go out and find someone to waste good sense on … wait, snap out of it! It’s just a song. A compelling song.

Blessed with a mature, charismatic voice and impeccable taste in songs, Hope Waits transcends genre. No relation to Tom (although she does perform a killer version of his “Get Behind the Mule”), with a crystalline creative vision, Hope Waits wraps her deep, slinky, sultry voice from heaven around a dozen bluesy/jazzy tracks on this striking debut.

Chandelier is the eigth album by New York songstress and MPress Records founder Rachael Sage. Self-produced by Sage, recorded by John Shyloski and mixed by Grammy Wiinner Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello, U2), the album is filled with what MOJO Magazine describes as “warm, intelligent…indie New York charm” and centers around the theme of fragility.

Backed by her regular touring outfit The Sequins (Dean Sharp on drums, Russ Johnson on trumpet and Dave Eggar on cello), Sage shines amidst a slew of additional special guests, ranging from Adam Levy on guitar (Norah Jones), to Todd Sickafoose on upright bass (Ani DiFranco).

With her wildly expressive, moody, edgy folk, this New York City songstress and producer continues to inspire with her eighth album of originals. 13 strikingly honest songs that feature Sage’s elegant piano-playing. Chandelier is her most ambitious, and soul-baring effort to date. (CDBABY)

Mature beyond her years, Philadelphia native Melody Gardot possesses a very natural musicality and a silky, versatile voice. While comparisons to the standards of Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux are justified, Melody’s confident grace and elegance shine throughout “Goodnite” and “Worrisome Heart”. With her tasteful and warm phrasing, moving seamlessly between the mellow old-time blues, jazz influences and acoustic folk, Melody captures the essence of the subtle beauty, confessional and timeless songwriting. Paul Irish [Aurgasm.us]

Real seeds of sun in the ears, that’s the present Hayley Sales gives us with Sunseed. A first album, charming yet impressive of maturity for a woman this age. Twenty years old and little Hayley is already big.