11:11 (2005)

Like her much better-known labelmate Bright Eyes, Maria Taylor (also of the Saddle Creek outfit Azure Ray) mixes intimate songwriting with spare, glitchy electronics on 11:11. Unlike Conor Oberst & Co., she eschews the polemical New Dylan role for a kinder, gentler sound. Her solo debut is like a tiny sparrow in the hand: delicate, fluttering, precisely built. Even as standout tracks ''Leap Year'' and the lullaby-esque ''Song Beneath the Song'' settle in after repeated playings, they still don't feel completely possessed by the listener. But that just makes them worth hearing again.