Frida Hyvonen

There's nothing fancy in Frida Hyvonen's debut -- just a whole lot of pummeling piano chords and a clear, strong voice. But the approach works so well for the 29-year-old songwriter that the record ends up greater than the sum of its parts, her simplistic one-liners and grade school piano playing netting huge emotional payoffs. Overall, the performance makes for a startling contrast to her dead-serious narratives, and on songs like "Djuna!," "I Drive My Friend" and "Today, Tuesday," the macabre result isn't unlike some of Cat Power's catalog.