If you haven’t heard of Kate Earl before, she is worth checking out. I wouldn’t put her in the same league as Wiki does – with Fiona Apple, Bjork or Regina Spekter. Kate’s music relies more on the beauty of her voice then on her passion as a songwriter. Her voice is as gorgeous as she is, and at times the laid back vibe she takes while singing reminds me of Norah Jones- although it feels like Norah Jones sings more from an “Old Soul”. I would group Kate Earl with the new pop folk singers like Marie Digby, Priscilla Ahn
and Laura Jansen.

Kate Earl released her first album, “Fate Is The Hunter” a few years ago – not many people knew about her at the time. She left the respected indie world to release her second album w/ the majors. I was worried about how that was going to effect her “small town” girl charm. We all saw what happened to Jewel (also from Alaska). If you were, or are, a Jewel fan I am sure you were shocked (and still remember) when we saw our “who will save your soul” girl being hosed down by fire fighters in the disastrous major label attempt at moving the beloved yoddling folk artist into their idea of pop- urban production. There is a way to successfully bridge different styles together- as Timbaland did with Nelly Furtado- but the source of creation must remain genuine- and never forced. Major labels have a notorious track record for not understanding that “X Factor”. And, if Kate’s second album doesn’t satisfy the unquenchable financial thirst of the major label Exec’s, she could find herself in the same “re-vamped marketing meeting” as Jewel did. Playing on the irony of her first album title of – “Fate” being the hunter.

Kate’s alaskan earthiness coupled with her songbird vocals is what originally drew me into her music. I was hoping this second album was going to deliver more authentic folk qualities, maybe do some song collaboration with Jose Gonzalez or Damien Rice to bring this out in her. The majors took her in a more produced direction, no surprise there – like I said – this can be disastrous for artists with folk roots. Fortunately, Kate’s second release didn’t loose to much of the chill vibe that established her in the first place. Which is why I say it’s worth checking out.

Sample her song “Melody” – which is the most recent song stuck on repeat in my head.

Melody (live acoustic) from Kate Earl on Vimeo.

Below is Jewel’s intuition video… just in case you forgot how crazy it was….