"Ethereal" artists (and I apologize for starting this review with such a crass grouping) often fall short of their ideals, because their ideals are so high - capturing ineffable forms of beauty hidden within everyday reality, or evoking landscapes that belong to remote eras, soulscapes determined by ways of life that have little to do with our flat contemporary world. Still, every generation produces a handful of ...beings who have the ability to successfully tap that parallel, forgotten world. Elaine Lachica, from Baltimore, may be one of them, since she's obviously blessed with natural talent, a wondrous voice and the patience required to translate that magic into music. 9, her debut album, is hardwired to that elusive tradition in which (among many others and in no particular order) Arthur Rimbaud, Fernand Khnoppf, the two Buckleys, Arvo Pärt, David Sylvian, and all the best 4AD artists belong. Lachica's vocal ramifications will remind you of Liz Fraser, Lisa Gerrard, even a certain tone Jeff Buckley used now and again... a less humorous Jane Siberry, maybe, a less technocentric, less histrionic, but sweeter and indier Kate Bush, I would say. Some of these tracks I would call "pieces", others "songs", and the four tracks featuring fractured drum patterns aren't necessarily poppier than the rest -you can forget about pop, you don't need it here (you won't need it there). And that's what's ultimately great about this record: everything about it is so stubbornly unconventional (without ever being weird for the sake of it, which I'd detest) that it's like a long breath of fresh air -it's also different from whatever brand of post-rock that may be currently resting on your record player. Those distant, dark brown pianos make you feel like you are on a boat headed for Victorialand or Böcklin's Isle of the Dead (ouch!), and if you're prepared to let yourself go it could be a really nice trip - sometimes she really wins, as on the intro to "Varuna", when the piano kicks in, after the backward vibes.… Oh, and I usually hate these ethereal artists!

Elaine Lachica