SiA

Sia's charm lies in her ability to be quirky, serene, sad and sanguine all at once. On Some People..., she embraces these qualities with a brute ferocity, layering on harmonies underpinned by heavy piano, brass and strings; singing rhymes about love, math and cocaine; and carrying her croons from a soulful coyness to a Christina Aguilera-like vibrato showiness in one beat. Her vocals are supreme and her guests quite hip (Beck, actor Giovanni Ribisi), but it's Sia's softer, humbler tracks that stand out here, including "You Have Been Loved" and the Ray Davies cover "I Go to Sleep."

This Australian-born folkie sad sack may still be best known for her Six Feet Under
highlight, "Breathe Me." But her third album (and first Starbucks command performance)
tries to establish her as a major Feist-style presence. The main attractions are Sia's smoky
voice and quirky personality. Yet not enough of that personality makes it into the music.
The ballads are so mellow, it's hard to remember a thing about them, and the kid... More >