Emilie Mover

Emilie Mover adds Cole Porter-inspired smoky jazz sophistication to her gently strummed coffeehouse tunes, calling to mind early Norah Jones. Her voice may conjure sultry romance, but Mover's compositions are just not behaved enough or quiet enough to be boxed into simple comparisons. Consider the subtle country tones and experimental flourishes from organs, guitars and backing vocals on "Lord Only Knows" and "Mountainside." Mover's delivery is meticulous yet languid and fluid, especially noteworthy on "Break up Medley" and when she swings into Brazilian Portuguese for her charming rendition of Jorge Ben's 1960 monster hit, "Chove Chuva." The attitude-laden jazzy folk of Seems So Long has strong market appeal, minus the trite lyrics and safe pop compositional style that characterized some of her earlier work. This is without a doubt her best record to date, suggesting great artistic progress. The Torontonian, by way of Florida, NYC and Montreal, makes it hard for even the staunchest of indie elitists to feign disinterest ― all the dreaded exposure she received from having her songs featured on a host of commercials and network T.V. series is easily forgiven.