RADAR: Susie Wilkins

Born in England and raised in Hong Kong where she began writing and performing in her teens, Susie Wilkins returned to London and hit the local club scene, honing her songcraft skills and building a loyal base of critics and fans. After a European tour supporting Joe Jackson in 2008, Wilkins began work on tracks that would become Anywhere But Here, her second seasoned album of blues and folk influenced pop songs. Over the next three years, Wilkins enlisted a number of England's best studio veterans to help flesh out her songs adding depth and color in makeshift living room sessions and at studios in London and New York. Anywhere But Here is something of a throwback to an era of unhurried and unpretentious adult-leaning pop, where the tiniest details of an intimate performance can be felt in each warm groove. Wilkins voice is an expressive, natural sounding instrument capable of communicating honesty and melancholy with a single soulfully stretched note. We're particularly taken by "Wasted Time", a sumptuous slow dance that wouldn't sound out of place on a Corinne Bailey Rae album. Catch Susie in New York at Rockwood Music Hall (7/23), Pete's Candy Store (7/22) and The Bitter End (7/17).

Susie Wilkins - "Wasted Time" (from Anywhere But Here)

Susie Wilkins - "No Answer" (from Anywhere But Here)