Megan Burtt

There's not much appealing about the plain-Jane cover art that adorns Megan Burtt's debut, which might prompt less-discerning listeners to pass this one up — and how wrong that would be. Over the course of a dozen tracks, Burtt shows off a stellar voice that splits the difference between Linda Ronstadt and Paula Cole, with the occasional, chill-inducing inflections of Sarah McLachlan. Eschewing the well-worn, straightforward acoustic singer-songwriter template of countless artists, Burtt creates songs perfectly in line with what you'd expect to hear between Ingrid Michaelson and Norah Jones over the speakers at the local coffee shop. Her expressive vocals, robust and delicate in equal measure, elevate the pleasing if not completely memorable set of tunes here and make a compelling case for not judging this book by its cover.