Amos Lee (2005)

Like his sensitive forebears James Taylor and Bill Withers, this Philly troubadour crafts concise, soulful songs with a warm palette of acoustic colors. Lee's laid-bare tunes feel homey, no doubt deepened by his authentic melisma and growing-pained lyrical sense: ''I'm in love with a girl who's in love with the world, though I can't help but follow/Though I know someday she is bound to float away.'' Youthful abandon for the wise and wide-eyed.