Fetching Austin-born singer/songwriter Sahara Smith may only be 22, but she is turning some pretty impressive heads in music.  Straddling an interesting space between homey intimacy and arty delicacy, her debut disk (after eight years writing and performing) is rather shockingly good.

Getting assists by the hip likes of T-Bone Burnett and Mark Ribot (Tom Waits' guitarist), this album sounds shockingly assured for a first album, even more so for an indie.

Smith has an ethereal voice similar to Margo Timmins of Cowboy Junkies, but her songwriting talent is even sharper than that terrific but occasionally sleepy outfit.

Search Myth of the Heart out.  It is certainly one of the finest debut albums of the past year.

Jay S.  Jacobs