Mo Kenney

This 22-year-old Halifax singer-songwriter sounds extremely poised and confident on her debut album, and that's only partially due to the support of her producer: Joel Plaskett. In fact, the spritely Kenney could easily be mistaken for Plaskett's kid sister, not just because of their physical resemblance, but also their shared knack for writing punchy folk-pop. With ten tracks clocking in at just over 33 minutes, Mo Kenney gives a sufficient taste of her talents without overstaying its welcome, moving from contemplative, McCartney-esque opener "Eden" through to an inventive and highly appropriate cover of David Bowie's "Five Years." In between, Kenney wears her coming-of-age trials as a badge of honour, already sounding like an old pro on "Sucker" and "I Can't Talk." While Plaskett's stamp is most prominent on "Déjà Vu" ― by far the album's catchiest song, on which he also sings back-ups ― Kenney sounds most in her element on the languid "Scene of the Crime" and "The Great Escape." On these numbers, she allows herself to get lost in the music, lending her vocals a sensual, Cat Power-like quality. Even without Plaskett in her corner, Kenney would be a shining new talent on the Canadian folk-rock scene, but together they've created a gem of an album.