Katie Costello - Lamplight (2011)

If you haven’t heard of Katie Costello, which is very likely, pretend you have a human-sized blender in which you can throw your favorite artists and have it spew out some musically-inclined humanoid synthesis of them. Throw in Mirah, Imogen Heap, and the singer from Camera Obscura and you might get something like Katie Costello. This is her second album (I wont comment on her first cause I haven’t heard it) and it begins with one of the most charming songs I’ve heard in the past few years (sorry “Gimme Sympathy,” “Living Room,” and “Higher Than the Stars”). It’s an upbeat little number called “Cassette Tape,” more or less a love song in which she proclaims her desire to make some young gentleman a mixtape. That song, with its infectious melody, engrossing ethos, and flawless execution, would have been enough for me to sit around for the rest of the album, but there are several other gems here. “No Shelter” has a more aggressive flow to it, and almost grunge-y guitars in the verses. “Out of Our Minds” is a lovely duet with someone who sounds like the guy from Stars. “Dig a Hole” is a muscular pop song, using a recycled (but winning) melody. “People: A Theory” is an almost indescribable semi-vaudevillian pop song that is probably meant to be taken more seriously than it will be. “The Weirds” is the best of the mellow songs. Every time she sings “I guess I have the weirds,” it’s touching in perhaps the cheesiest way possible. This is not a universally stunning album. It hits some lulls, mainly on the slower tracks, but never gets worse than “pleasant.” It’s the times when Katie steps outside of the singer/songwriter “box” that she leaves all the Starbucks-CD-selling girls-with-acoustic-guitars in the dust. They wouldn’t know rock ‘n’ roll if it peed in their lattes. Katie, though not a rocker by trade, is one in spirit, and she has created a very fulfilling album.