Kirsten Price

Guts & Garbage

KPI Records

Behind so many albums, there's a long and twisted road. Guts & Garbage is no different. Singer Kirsten Price began to be noticed by record labels and soon found herself signed to a company that wanted to change her. No big surprise there, except she wasn't willing to go along and decided to take a walk down her own lonely avenue. The Englishwoman was living in Brooklyn, having moved there from London one week before September 11, 2001. Timing being everything, it strengthened her resolve to do things her way, which is exactly what she's done the past seven years. The songs on this album are all about her, sung in a voice that is equal parts deep soul and pop sassiness. While other English female singers are being picked as the new musical wave to watch, that kind of talk is meaningless to Price. She's fought too long for herself to be part of any movement. With her music there just aren't that many nods to the past, whether it's girl group pomp or Motown circumstance. It's like she's taken a tour of America's urban centers, picking up sounds along that way that fit a decidedly unique worldview, one where modern beats open up the songs instead of box them in. Her voice could come from anywhere, really, and it's clear she's someone who approaches music with no preconceptions. If Prince had someone riding in his purple sidecar right now, it would be Ms. Price. Pick: "All Right." Radio hasn't had it so good in a long time.