Tanya Tagaq

Part PJ Harvey, part Buffy Saint-Marie, Tanya Tagaq's sound bears little classification -- her music would find itself at home next to the dramatic and experimental wanderings of Carla Kihlstedt, say, or the vocal pyrotechnics of Tuvan throat singer Sainkho Namtchylak. Despite such eclecticism, Auk is surprisingly listenable, growling, groaning and panting while the droning cello and propulsive jazz drumming (even some hip-hop) create a welcome aural thread. Hardly easy-listening music, but an utterly brilliant re-imagining of what Inuit throat singing could be in the 21st century.