Jill Barber — Oh Heart

Jill Barber’s voice has incredible clarity, yet is infused with warmth that you want to wrap around yourself. This is Barber’s second EP and it’s steeped in old jazz rhythms mixed with a touch of bluegrass twang and gentle folk melody. There are echoes of Martha Wainwright here, though Barber really does invoke Sarah Slean’s cabaret warble on "Measures & Scales" and Sarah Harmer’s warm lilt for "In Perfect Time."

However, despite these comparisons, Barber has a vocal quality that is really all her own: sometimes smoky, sometimes childlike and always beautiful. In addition to the base of her acoustic guitar, Barber brings in soft strings (courtesy of the Blue Engine string quartet), plunky clarinet for half-time rhythms that evoke images of speakeasies where Barber holds court with a guitar and a cheeky grin.

Oh Heart is a perfect small serving of Barber’s considerable talents. Now it’s time to hang in and wait for the main course.

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