(14-track album/ EMI RECORDS)
Here we go then� revelation time.
The sweet sweet sweetness of this young lady is second-to-none, presenting 40 minutes splashed over 14 incredible tracks, every one of which is aptly �grand.�
Opening with �Slung Lo,� immediately you�ll be reminded of Belle & Sebastian while the cooler and more upbeat �Cinematic� is more Suzanne Vega-flavoured for the better.
In fact Erin sounds to draw a multitude of sensational influences into her music and because there are so many, the resultant sound manages to sound vibrantly original in its own right and in dignified tribute, as �Born To Hum� (no� not �run�!) is one of the most sublime, banjo-accompanied folk-pop songs in a long time with its gorgeously lush �We were born to hum� choral refrain that even manages to remind of Canadian singer-songwriter extraordinaire Hawksley Workman.
In true Beth Orton-fashion, Erin can mostly be found singing her heart out whilst accompanying herself on acoustic guitar (all the while joined by a gang of friends who provide further instrumentation to flesh out the sound), though Erin proves she can play piano on �Envelopes of Glassine� before �A Better Wife� harks to the type of unconditional love song that The Moldy Peaches� singer Kim Ya so soulfully and intriguingly croons.
There�s also something of a poet in her, as she sings of �cosmopolitans and ladies looking for pills in draperies� (�Cosmopolitan�) before her �James,� which is contemporarily rigged with a cool drum loop that edges into the final song - of a truly extraordinarily down-to-earth and organically affecting album - that counters the previous song�s gender by being entitled �Vera,� and that�s perfomed with Nick Cave�s seriously sullen sincerity.
�It�s funny how well poets lie,� so goes the very last line. And it�s incredible how such a modest-sounding McKeown can have such a profound effect on surely anyone and everyone who listens to this modern masterpiece of whimsical, acoustic-rooted reality. 5/5 (STEVE RUDD)
www.erinmckeown.com
www.musicfromemi.com