Amy Cooper
water/fire

While an Amy Cooper may have been captain of your high school cheerleading squad, this Amy is less cheerleader and more that girl who dated guys on motorcycles, smoked under the bleachers, and made combat boots look sexy. On her debut album, water/fire, Cooper walks the thin line that separates shadow from light with the smooth expertise of a tightrope walker. With a deep, sultry voice that rivals PJ Harvey's, Cooper flirts with gloom while being intellectually seductive. A delicate balance of the sweet and the menacing, water/fire, which was produced by indie rocker John Vanderslice, blends murky guitars, slightly haunting string arrangements, and a soft yet powerful percussion that sweeps in and out like the tide. But the grace of water/fire is Cooper's husky voice, which echoes sweetly and wistfully across the album's dusky, lo-fi landscapes. Lying somewhere between interstate highway tumbleweeds and Greenwich Village, the album recalls Ennio Morricone's trademark whistling ("Hurried Steps"), Joan Baez-era folk ("You and I"), and early Liz Phair ("Undone"). One of the album's best tracks, though, is all Cooper's own; the morbid, albeit bouncy, ballad "Faded Sign" is an eerie, catchy number perfectly rounded off by strings that swing like a pendulum. Water/fire will catch you off guard and subtly hook you in, like a moth to a flame. (Elisa Jacobs)