A breakthrough is looming for
23-year-old singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile. In March, the Ravensdale,
Wash., native was featured in Rolling Stone as one of “10 Artists t
Watch,” and in June she is set to release her first full-length album
through Columbia Records.
Her five-song EP, “Acoustic,” offers a brief glimpse at what could be a
bright future for the young artist. The soulful rasp and deep melodic
range of Carlile’s vocals haunt the EP’s stripped down melancholic
ballads. Carlile is accompanied by twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth (lead
guitar and bass), and each song comes to life with a delicately harmonic sound and deeply confessional lyrics.
Carlile has already built a significant following on the West Coast and has toured with Dave Matthews, James Taylor, India Arie and Jonny Lang. A singing voice as distinct as Carlile’s doesn’t stay in the margins for long. Music fans hoping to capture an emerging but still out-of-the-mainstream artist will want to check out the album, which is available online (www.brandicarlile.com).
–Josh Lintereur