Turbula

Petracovich, a.k.a. Jessica Peters, builds on her neo-folk background by adding in post-trip hop and post-electronica elements. The result is dreamy, melancholy and features Peters on piano and Nord II keyboard. Peters, with Tad Wagner (engineer/guitarist for Buellton) as co-producer and recording engineer, spent a year at Buonapasta studios crafting this album. The effort shows in delicately poised arrangements and layers of carefully applied sound. Somewhat lo-fi and delivered in a personal, ear-close breathy voice just above a whisper, this album is intimate and warm despite the reliance on electronic tone coloring. What guitar that is present is sparsely applied, just like all the instrumentation, making this nearly a vocal album. Fans of Aimee Man and Beth Orton will appreciate this nine-song debut.

By Tom Shulte