Laura Love

The Pacific Northwest's answer to Ani Difranco, Laura Love is funky, folky and feminist, and Octoroon exemplifies just how many directions Love is capable of taking those three adjectives in. "Bad Feeling" pairs Love's slap bass with down-homey lyrics sung in an accented twang, while "Can't Understand" finds her yodeling over a zydeco accordion. The title track deconstructs the socio-cultural history of Love's own racial identity to the tune of a mean blues harmonica. And then there's the cover of Nirvana's "Come as You Are." Nope, we're not kidding.