Phoning It In 06/30/05 Radio Program

Ukrainian ex-pat and former Bostonian ice cream scooper Alina Simone (ex-Emma La Reina) phones it in from Hoboken, NJ. It's a stunner, a dark slow-burner that even takes a vacuous pop song to emotional places you never thought it could go (though we couldn't include that track here). Fans of Dry-era PJ Harvey, early Spinanes, Sinead O'Connor, Scout Niblett, or Cat Power take note. Sez' she: "My songs are about places where nothing and everything seems to happen - pawn shops, access roads, malls, gas stations - and all the gorgeous, impossible possibilities that other people can bring into your life. Yes, I know it's kind of raw and messy."

Nadav Carmel

Nadav Carmel