RADAR: Roxy Rawson

Roxy Rawson is classically-trained Londoner armed with a violin, a delightfully quirky way with melody and an effervescent voice that darts and flits with happy, eccentric abandon. Her 2009 debut Changing Things was oh-so-Regina-Spektor-ish, a promising if precious first step that sparkled and fizzed with prodigious, scattered invention. Now a more mature Rawson prepares for the September launch of her debut full-length Quenching the Kill and lead single "Fingers" offers a heady preview of what's to come. The voice is fuller and softer around the edges, the production both spacious and nicely busy, strings pluckily plucked and caressed, the beats and fingersnaps propelling the song forward with more purpose and less abandon. Rhythm is still paramount, particularly with her vocal phrasing (something she picked up while singing with an African choir), but now the effect is supportive, pushing and prodding the melody forward rather than overwhelming it.

Roxy Rawson - "Fingers" (from the forthcoming album Quenching the Kill)