One Little Indian Us
2004
Scissors In My Pocket
About This Album
Nearly 35 years on, and the folk and twining soft rock of the early '70s is being birthed again in a stylized new version. Suddenly young women with unruly mops of dark hair and a flair for dusky vocal phrasing are handily making their way in pop music. They're clad in comfy boat-neck sweaters, dainty scarves, and those boots Emmylou Harris wore on the cover of Elite Hotel; their antidote to plastic club/dance divadom is a holistic amalgam of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, James Taylor, and Tim Buckley. Englishwoman Polly Paulusma joins their ranks with Scissors in My Pocket, her charming debut for One Little Indian. It always starts with the voice, and Paulusma's never disappoints. Mitchell is a significant influence in both vocal style and phrasing, but there's a bit of Edie Brickell's reedy grace in there, too. Accompanied principally by subtle acoustic guitars or piano, she doesn't need to prove how strong her voice is, and doesn't skip through styles on the whim of a marketing director. This means Scissors lacks the pretentiousness that tinges some of its contemporaries' work. "Perfect 4/4" is a gorgeous piece that had to be recorded live -- you can hear Paulusma's voice echoing off the walls, almost see her hand resting on the piano's lacquered finish.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8)

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