An Invitation (2008)

Image credit: Autumn DeWilde

INARA GEORGE An Invitation fans of Rufus Wainwright and Fiona Apple would do well to accept

If Inara George's latest is indeed an invitation, per the title, rest assured it won't come as an Evite. The L.A. chanteuse's newest disc floats in a sort of dreamy, creamy wonderland better suited to a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers dance sequence than any clumsy modern milieu. An Invitation's light-fantastic orchestration, courtesy of famed songwriter and composer Van Dyke Parks (Brian Wilson's SMiLE, Joanna Newsom's Ys), is equally, delightfully old-fashioned — though George's decidedly contemporary lyrics recall the arch-baroque confessionals of Rufus Wainwright and Fiona Apple. Anachronistic? Perhaps, but enchanting nonetheless. A-
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