Serena Ryder — Unlikely Emergency

Released through Hawksley Workman's label, the debut album from Serena Ryder arrives full of promise. She scores well in the songwriting category — lines like "am I something more than just fate's plaything?" give good hits of metaphoric meaning — but the singing stumbles. When she sings in a lower tone (such as in "Again By You"), her voice resembles a Celtic-sounding warble, but on many other tracks, her vocals come off as abrasive and downright irritating. As with all unconventional vocal styles, Ryder takes a few spins to get used to, but when she keeps her singing under control, her style of folky funk shines.

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