This 23-year-old Malaysia native was discovered from her YouTube performances, and perhaps the smartest decision she made on this debut album, Zee Avi, was to keep the simplicity of those homemade videos intact. Only the lightest of instrumentation and the gentlest of brush-snare backdrops sneak in to surround Zee Avi's extraordinary voice, a shy, supple sound that seems to have traveled across generations from a jazzier time. Though her childlike love songs occasionally turn a bit cloying, her voice replaces the perfume in the air with dusky, addictive smoke. B+
Download This: Listen to the song Bitter Heart at imeem.com
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.