A couple of years ago we received the Martha Wainwright E.P. which blew us away; we couldn’t wait to see her perform and hear the full album release. Well, another tantalising E.P. has landed featuring a young lady called Lisa Lindley-Jones. We’re waiting…

The first thing that struck about this EP was the excellent and dramatic photo of Lindley-Jones on the cover. The reason I mention it is that it seems to me that music media photos are becoming increasing mediocre, and for the life of me I can’t understand why. This photo sets the scene nicely and, as it turned out, quite accurately. 2007 is turning out to be a vintage female singer/songwriter year with several new artists releasing some fabulous recordings. The one thing they have in common (besides great quality) is that they all have distinctive and original musical styles which remain consistent through their recordings. In quite sharp contrast Lindley-Jones offers diverse styles in the EP’s four songs, but somehow manages to tag each of them with her artistic personality. It’s a neat trick and it works. Thundering electronics introduce the first song, StepBack, before her voice makes it sparkling and clear entrance, backed by a simple, beautiful acoustic arrangement. It’s melodic love ballad communicated by a voice that appears to have wide range and subtle power, while remaining pure and sweet. It’s a beautiful song; wonderfully performed and produced (by Lyndley-Jones). From lighter contemplation she moves to a darker tone with Killing Song, that opens with her unaccompanied voice, joined eventually by deathly sounding bass guitar chords. The song is a cautionary tale for lovers (“… she’ll kill you from the inside.”) and is sung with shed loads of convincing expression. Let It Sleep features a multi-layered vocal that sounds like those female groups that dominated the 50’s (such as the Beverley Sisters) but sounds bang up-to-date. Finally, Lazy is a bluesy, jazzy, soulful ballad with piano, cello and deadbeat drum rhythm. Lindley-Jones adapts her vocal perfectly to the song’s threatening, glacially paced vibe (I can imagine Nina Simone performing this beauty). Soaring strings and vocal enter in the finishing straight to complete my pick of this glorious four-song collection. Watch out for this lady, she’s dynamite…

4.5/5