*** (of 4)
VEILED
Leah Andreone
BMG

Newcomer to the indie rock domain Leah Andreone, a 23-year-old singer songwriter from San Diego, has something to say. Her voice is a wiry, dextrous thing which cartwheels through imaginative song forms in a series of jagged lines and hastily scribbled circles. Like Tori Amos, she goes for the jugular, like Kate Bush she has a penchant for the ethereal, like Bjork, a style which is all her own, and like Jane Siberry, a curiosity for the eccentric and the bizarre. Andreone is not yet as wholly "formed" as those solid stars, and some tracks lack the fluidity and flexibility to follow her vocal acrobatics. But most go close and some go all the way. She has ideas and energy to burn and she harnesses both in a tight, simple, rock framework. Veiled is fresh, accessible and offbeat. A fine debut.

Lesley Sly