Kasey Chambers

Although still in her 20s, Australian Kasey Chambers possesses a knowing lyrical and vocal quality - present from a young age in many of America's greatest country artists - that makes her sound wise beyond her years. During the '90s, Chambers, as a member of the Dead Ringer Band, was the face of Australian New Country. Embarking on a solo career beginning with 2000’s The Captain, she's delved into more introspective material that explores a variety of folk and roots music beyond country. In the process, she's earned five ARIA awards, Australia's equivalent of the Grammy.

Entering the Australian pop charts at #1, Chambers’ third album Wayward Angel marks the arrival of a bona fide superstar in her native land, and a singer/songwriter of remarkable depth and commercial potential in America. Wayward Angel finds Chambers moving deftly between heart-aching solo piano material like “Paper Aeroplane” and mid-tempo, full-band country rockers like “Stronger.” While she sings in a distinctively girlish voice, Chambers’ skillfully emotional delivery of sophisticated lyrics on personal issues ranging from family trauma to romantic love suggests that she can back up the impressive package. Wayward Angel will likely mark the emergence of Chambers as a minor star in American country music, one with significant crossover potential. - Cory O'Malley

When Kasey Chambers sings, she manages the not-unremarkable accomplishment of splitting the difference between Emmylou Harris's crystalline purity and Lucinda Williams's rough-hewn emotional honesty, and the most startling thing is you sense she sounded like this before she ever heard of either artist. Chambers' songwriting is no less remarkable, and connects in much the same way, chronicling matters of the heart and soul in a manner that achieves a genuine and unaffected beauty with just a dash of the truthful messiness that comes with being human. Chambers's third solo album, Wayward Angel, is perhaps a bit less striking than her first two sets, The Captain and Barricades & Brickwalls, if only because she staked out her style on those sessions, and here she's harvesting from the ground she broke earlier on. But this also sounds like her most accomplished effort to date. Whether she sings from the perspective of a precocious child ("Pony"), a woman with a serious case of lust ("Guilty as Sin"), or an elderly man ("Paper Aeroplane"), Chambers never fails to hit the right note as a lyricist, or make a false step as a vocalist, and Wayward Angel is informed by a confidence that never sinks into arrogance. Chambers is also lucky to have on hand as producer her brother Nash Chambers, who has paired Kasey with a team of gifted pickers who add color to the songs without cluttering the landscape, and captured the results in an admirably straightforward manner. Wayward Angel is the work of a strikingly talented singer and songwriter, and it's simply a pleasure to hear Kasey Chambers work -- anyone who doubts that this woman is a major artist needs to hear this album as soon as possible. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi