Natasha Borzilova – Cheap Escape

Who? Natasha Borzilova, formerly of Grammy-nominated Bering Strait, originally from Russia and now living in Nashville. This is her first solo outing.

Any good? You bet. “I’m angry” she sings in the opener of the same title, and you’d better believe it; this lady is upset. There’s no bitterness here though, just a straight-to-the-point statement of intent. As if to leave you in no doubt, the guitar solo smacks you between the eyes like a cork from a well-shaken champagne bottle. The title track, Cheap Escape, brings in an accordion and suddenly you’re in Counting Crows territory. October Blue is very good, with its vocal harmonies; Dear Diary is nothing like you’d expect from a song with a title like that; and closing track Something I never knew about love is simply top class. Difficult to pick a personal favourite from such a strong collection, and I’ve had this on rotation in the car for the last week and a half, so just go buy it.

Try before you buy? No problemo – www.myspace.com/natashaborzilova has tracks to hear, and there are lyrics at www.natashaborzilova.com so you can sing along – you’ll want to. There are videos on Youtube too.

Cash in your pocket? Head off to Amazon, iTunes and CDBaby – all linked from the website.