Sonya Kitchell:
This Storm

Teenager’s music all grown up

Sonya Kitchell established herself as a breakout artist at age 16, when she recorded the album Words Came Back to Me and found herself performing on TV talk shows, notching respectable sales and collecting many a glowing review. Now 19 years old, the Massachusetts-bred singer/songwriter is back with This Storm, an accomplished effort that combines folk’s searching sentiments with pure pop bliss. Producer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris) wisely keeps the emphasis on Kitchell’s voice, a smoky, expressive instrument that she deploys with preternatural restraint. Her subtlety adds intrigue to rock-infused cuts like “For Every Drop” (even when she lets loose, there’s the suggestion that she’s holding something back), but Kitchell is at her most devastating as a balladeer. On the gorgeous “So Lonely,” her vocals are so high in the mix and her delivery is so delicate that she could be confiding in your ear.

Listen to Sonya Kitchell's "Effortless" from This Storm: