Liar And The Thief

This is a pleasure to listen to. Spare, emotional songs in which the (female) vocal delivery is somewhat better than the lyrics themselves, a similar vocals-are-better-than-lyrics setup occurs with Azure Ray, which I like a lot. The lyrics here however speak of themes of emotional desperation, also, this album's not as slick, it's more arty instead, often employing string instruments, indeed the instrumentation is often surprisingly good, and songs tend to develop through stages, adding instruments as the song develops (this is done very well here). This artist performed on NYC's subways and then relocated to Athens, GA. She's opened for Aimee Mann and performed on NPR's Mountain Stage. Does that mean we're not supposed to like this?

Rec: 1, 7, 8

1 slow and dirgey, pretty and emotional, yearning, almost desperate
2 plucked strings work well, a bit more plodding, layers and develops more toward end
3 a bit too commercial
4 sort of pretty, simple, chime lullaby, develops
5 strings, waltz, profoundly orchestrated, more climactic than most other songs
6 this doesn't leave much of an impression
7 more strings, this has a sort of weary almost rootsy in some certain sense
8 beautiful, pop ballad, layered instrumental, blends quietly into next track
9 a bit slighter, distant, nice