Amazon.comWhile Danielle Howle has been favorably compared with indie rockers Cat Power and Liz Phair, the Southern folkie is more a sister in soul to Run On's throaty Sue Garner and the deliciously quirky Victoria Williams. Howle rocks solo here (in contrast to the earlier Do a Two Sable, featuring her wild and wholly twang-rock band the Tantrums), deftly constructing little worlds with chords and words and singing in a yowl that's daring yet devoid of histrionics. Perfectly sensible, she deconstructs love (it "feels like an anvil") and reveals that "happy's not a factor / It's a factory at work." Whether singing of her grandfather's passing, the view from the top of a tree, or the heartache that accompanies the burying of babies, Howle is altogether earthy and engaging. --Paige La Grone