Olenka & the Autumn Lovers

To a room of infatuated early birds sitting cross-legged on the floor and latecomers squished contently into a hallway, Olenka & the Autumn Lovers (or three of them, anyway) played a quick but commanding set at the CMW Live Near Bellwoods Daytime Living Room Sessions. The first song, "Warsaw Girl," began cautiously as lead singer Olenka Krakus polled the audience about whether her vocals were loud enough. They weren't, but this was easily remedied by an audience that kept silent during the performance and hung off her every word. "Odessa" and "Lark" went way beyond chamber pop and into somewhere far more beautiful, while "Flash in the Pan" served as a reminder that this is a folk band at heart -- and a great one at that.