Nerina Pallot - New Year of the Wolf

Nerina Pallot - (Sm)art/pop-ping British singer and songwriter returns with a belated digital-only U.S release of her newly-expanded, Bernard Butler-produced 2011 album...we first discovered Pallot with Fires, her fine 2005 album that eventually netted a Brit Award nomination, but her appealing, well-crafted music has curiously eluded a more prominent Stateside presence // Release: New Year of the Wolf (February 21, Digital) // Sounds like: Pallot, who describes her music as "songs with a heart and a tune you can whistle", balances thoughtful balladry with a more uptempo and mainstream pop flair, ultra-melodic and irony-free songs that more recently have flirted with a cheeky, nostalgic aura...the "New" of her original Year of the Wolf means more music: six bonus covers (Nick Drake, Radiohead, Elton, Bowie, Beyonce, Gershwin) recorded live for BBC live sessions...

Quote: "I wish I had the ability to just switch the writing on and off but I'm a bit emotional and tend to write when the mood takes me and not to order...it has to come from an emotional core."// What we like: Butler, who scored big with Duffy's Rockferry, brings a classic, 70's sonic pop production to Pallot's songs, imbuing songs like "All Bets Are Off" and the string-laden "Put Your Hands Up" with a sunny -- and mostly uncluttered -- sound...we've always been partial to Pallot's piano ballads and "History Boys", boasting a gorgeous melody, is one of her best..."Butterfly" glistens with a smoothed-out guitar punch, romping 4/4 beat and some Fleetwood Mac-ian chorus harmonies...

Nerina Pallot - "Butterfly" (from New Year of the Wolf)

Nerina Pallot - "History Boys" (from New Year of the Wolf)