Kimbra - Vows

Kimbra - If you peel back the cluttered, glossy synth-beat exterior of the remarkable debut from this über-theatrical New Zealand performing songwriter -- as she does in a series of jawdropping live-in-studio videos (below) -- you can can discover what might have been and, of course, what could be...weighed down with obvious major label pressures (and fat production pocketbook) the jazzy, soulful singer struggles to keep from drowning in a "more-is-more" modern pop studio mix but we're still rolling our socks back down regardless of the knob-twiddling umbrage // Release: Vows (Just out Down Under, Universal; US: TBD) // Sounds like: a cool cabaret art-pop cocktail with a mind-numbing shot of sweetened rhythmic beat juice thanks to inebriated mixmasters Francois Tetaz and M-Phazes...Kimbra's disarming vocal style, on multi-tracked display in the amazing Live @ Sing Sing Studio videos below, is both deep and wide, a flurry of soulfully slurred notes and then, on a dime, some pinpoint precision vocal runs (her version of Nina Simone's "Plain Gold Ring" is a must)...

Quote: "But nothing could quite prepare for the finely honed soul-come-funk-pop assault of Kimbra and her whip-tight band. At a time when it seems the only alternatives for female performers who don’t want to be chart starlets means being hemmed into acting like airy girls who sing like children (with optional acoustic guitar); Kimbra smashes those boundaries." - Beat // What we like: Listen to the way she bends, shapes and molds her voice around the notes of "Two Way Street" -- this is clearly someone who was born with a mic in her hand..."Good Intent" takes advantage of some chilled minor chords, unpredictable, retro Winehouse-styled touches and tightly gripped vocal phrasing -- easily one of Vow's best (ie., least manipulated) songs...

Kimbra - "Good Intent" (from Vows)

Kimbra - "Two Way Street" (from Vows)