Julia Darling - Figure 8

(Sony)

***

The debut album by this young New York-based, New Plymouth-bred singer-songwriter shows an assured performer and writer with a line in strident folky stuff which pitches her somewhere between the likes of Heather Nova and Tori Amos, as well as wistful poprock reminiscent of Aimee Mann.

Which also means she's not quite a stand-out as yet in what these days is a crowded territory and the songs are a little undernourished for truly memorable tunes. But still, more than enough to anticipate good things from further developments and predict that soon she'll be a pop Darling in more than just name.