Hump Day Artist of the Week XI

It returns! Woo hoo!

I will finally take another look at an artist that has been taking up a lot of my ears' time over the last week. This time I am going to highlight an artist that I want to make sure everyone has given a chance. If you haven't yet, make sure you do so. I'm sure you won't regret it.

That artist would be none other than A Fine Frenzy. Her real name is Alison Sudol but she chooses to go by A Fine Frenzy. She's a singer/songwriter and I strongly believe that she stands out among other artists in her genre. Her sound is a gateway drug to artists like Feist (more on Feist in the weeks to come) and every song on her debut full length "One Cell in the Sea" meshes together well to create a beautiful album.

Her single "Almost Lover" really shines through on the album for me because of its simplicity. It's pretty much just Alison and a piano with a little bit of strings in there too. Her vocals come across as genuinely remorseful and yet there's definitely an emotional struggle that she's pouring out as well. I'd be pleased as punch if she were to record another album of just her and a piano, it sounds a lot more personal when she does. Though that's not to say that the album she put out isn't worthy of a listen by any means. Other songs to definitely check out would be "Near to You" which again has a very personal and stripped down feel; the more upbeat "Come On, Come Out" and "Last of Days" which has a lot of similarities to Norah Jones.

If there was something to gripe about "One Cell in the Sea" it would be that the songs sound very similar throughout. So if you don't like one of her songs, you probably won't care to much for the rest of the CD. However, I strongly encourage you to check out her MySpace page where she has lots of songs available for sampling.

Also, check out this live video of A Fine Frenzy performing her single, "Almost Lover." Good stuff.