Bree Sharp - A Cheap And Evil Girl (1999)

Based on the hit single "David Duchovny," it's tempting to dismiss A Cheap and Evil Girl as novelty album. Sharp humorously confesses her infatuation with the X-Files hottie, singing "Sitting like a mindless clone / Waiting for him to tap my phone," later adding, "I'm sweet and I'm cuddly / I'm gonna kill Scully." "David Duchovny," however, is merely an over-the-top introduction to an album loaded with intelligent and poetic songs, some as heartbreaking as others are hilarious. Sharp's quavering vocals thread the virulent tendencies of the Throwing Muses and Sleater-Kinney together with the irreverent sass of the B-52s' Kate Pierson. As a songwriter, her musical narratives are bolstered by lo-fi production and rock arrangements that are simultaneously daring and delicate. Think of her as the female Robyn Hitchcock. Like a lively conversation cut short, A Cheap and Evil Girl leaves you yearning to hear more. --Beth Massa