Nellie McKay

Wow. This immensely talented 19-year-old overachiever does jazz cabaret one minute, indie pop the next, and comedy rap after that, almost as if Diana Krall collaborated with Beck and Outkast's Andre 3000. McKay matches modern irony with an old world sense of whimsy and real musical muscle on this impressive debut.

Hidden smack in the middle of each of these two nine-track CDs are two forgettable songs, leaving 16 of 18 that are memorable melodically, lyrically, or both, which would be an accomplishment for Randy Newman himself. Not counting Stephin Merritt, no other under-40 approaches McKay's gift for cabaret. The worst you can say is that her satire is shallow--dissing yuppies in the '00s is the precise terminological equivalent of dissing hippies in the '80s. But "Work Song" (bosses), "Inner Peace" (New Ageism), "It's a Pose" ("God you went to Oxford/Head still in your boxers") feel something like classic, and personal notes like the fond "Manhattan Avenue" and the fonder "Dog Song" suggest that soon her egomania will yield emotional complexities worthy of her talent. (Grade - A-)