Kat Burns & Forest City Lovers The Sun and the Wind

Kat Burns’s sleepy folk pop has been alluring thus far and, while her bold voice comes clean, she remains enigmatic. Liberated from hazy vocal effects by the House of Miracles, Burns’s love letter messages ring true and — aided by the Forest City Lovers — are delivered with instrumentation that is subtly inventive. On "Castles” a lazy summer guitar part rests under Burns’s introspective singing, which is ushered along by Jamie Bunton’s pitter-pattering drums and his insistent trumpet. "Doorsteps” hits a shuffling higher gear, with banjos and spooky vocals building a mystery that leads us to a curious "Song for Morrie.” Even seemingly sparse tunes like "Lost Things” contain magical tricks, while "On the Basis” exemplifies Burns’s penchant for coy musical turns. A sly storyteller, Burns quietly edges away from a lo-fi shore with The Sun and the Wind, with every indication that still waters run deep. (Independent)

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