Jennifer O'Connor

With just a touch more polish than her previous recordings, Jennifer O'Connor sounds primed for an audience who fell in love with the Oscar-winning Once in 2007. Consisting of grieving croons and delicate acoustic picking, O'Connor's folksy side gets some lush backup with layers of faint harmonies, soft beats and the occasional harmonica and piano for an increased dosage of melancholy. "Daylight Out," "Here With Me" and "Xmas Party" are the most treated and the most upbeat, but it's the stripped-down tunes like "Valley Road 86" and "Landmine" that really show off this singer-songwriter's witticisms and heartfelt tales.