Keren Ann

There is something exotic and disturbing about Keren Ann's moody compositions that are as unsettling as they are beautiful, lingering in the memory long after you've stopped listening. Her interview is much the same, haunting, brainy and fierce -- just like her lyrics. The multi instrumentalist talks about her workaholism, her love of crooners like Elvis and Sinatra, but her obsession with Bob Dylan and Lee Hazelwood. But a perfect day for the stunning chanteuse is listening to Phillip Glass and Queens of the Stone Age.

Keren Ann is a languorous Parisian chanteuse with a throaty soprano that promises untold pleasures for as long as she likes you. "Lay Your Head Down" even hints that she'll still like you tomorrow, with a nice tune to back it up. One thing, though, mon chou--over here, we say "miss you like hell." "As hell" just doesn't sound right. (Grade - ***)