Keren Ann channels Lee Hazelwood and the Underground on her satisfying, yet dark, new self-titled CD  Full text...

Her fifth album is every bit as intoxicating as her last two. Zeidel has a frail, crystalline voice reminiscent of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, and a similar enthusiasm for the dreamier corners of the Velvet Underground catalogue, two qualities that make the single Lay Your Head Down as beguiling an invitation as you will hear all year.  Full text...

Much in the same way that her past albums have, Keren Ann's self-titled fifth record provides listeners with a sampling of cocktail pop with one foot in both the jazz world and the one in which Lou Reed presently resides. And with rich, soulful offerings like "Between the Flatland and the Caspian Sea," Zeidel reveals even more stylistic expansion. Yet as the album comes to a close with the fuzzy, funky, almost Bowie-like "Caspia," Keren Ann goes one step further, by doing something that's actually quite surprising.   Full text...

Ann's airy voice remains the central attraction, but she shows impressive growth as a songwriter, too, with the cathartic prayer "Between the Flatland and the Caspian Sea" being the standout.   Full text...

Sleepwalker or malcontent? She could be both.  Full text...

Keren Ann's indie-soundtrack ditties are more grounded and rootsy than, say, Emilie Simon's, and they're certainly more exciting than labelmate Norah Jones's sleepy-time lullabies, but Keren Ann is still too often in danger of getting lost against the wallpaper.  Full text...