Pop/Rock - "I felt like being daring" reflects 24-year-old Alison Sudol, aka A Fine Frenzy, on her forthcoming sophomore album Bomb In A Birdcage. "I think some people may be surprised. They think that I’m all fragile and ethereal, but I have a wild side, too. I’m a quiet person with a loud streak, and this record is a testament to that.” One listen to "Blow Away," the aptly titled forceful and precocious first single, reveals that Sudol's claim to a new hotwired energy is not only accurate, it's well-suited. With an exhilarating pop pomp stomp, we think "Blow Away" has a near-perfect mix of eargrabbing melody and propulsive backbeat. We also particularly like the stuttered rhythms and lighter-than-air melodic structure of "Bird of the Summer", a song that pretty much embodies everything we love about Ms. Sudol's music.

Not that AFF's debut album, 2007's One Cell In the Sea, was a snoozefest -- far from it. Led by tracks such as "Almost Lover" and "Come On Come Out", the lush, piano driven Cell turned out to be a critical success and a solid international seller. Thanks to strong on-line buzz, 500,000 Twitter followers, TV performances and licensing and endless touring with the likes of Rufus Wainwright and Brandi Carlile, Cell went on to sell over 300,000 copies throughout the world.

In fact, it was the live performances and the need to step up the pulse to connect as an opening act that generated Sudol's desire to flesh out her new songs with bold, fresh ideas in instrumentation and production. “On tour,” she says, “I discovered that I love rocking out and having a good time. I started listening to as much music as I could. I didn’t want to limit myself. I wanted to stretch and grow and push myself. I also wanted to have fun.”

A Fine Frenzy - "Come On Come Out" (Live In the Studio - from One Cell In The Sea)

Banner Photo Credit: Tarin Anderson