Rating: **** (4 out of 4)

Availability: Widely available.

Poe's debut album is a very rare creature indeed. I spent a long time considering what made this album different from the others in my collection and finally decided. In Hello, Poe recorded an album on which each track is actually good. I'm very rarely 100% satisfied with any album that I buy, but I will gladly say that Poe's Hello is one of the few to impress me this much.

It's difficult to pin down what exactly makes Poe's music so enjoyable. Maybe it's the trippy sound of some songs like the title track, or maybe its her use of geek-culture references in her lyrics ("It's just another one of his Jedi mind tricks"). It could be the down-in-the-dirt growl of songs like "Trigger Happy Jack (Drive By A Go-Go)", or the poetic beauty of songs like "Fly Away." Whatever it is, there is a spirit that drives every song, turning Hello into one of the best albums available by any artist.

The opinions expressed in the above reviews are those of Glen Williams and may not represent the views of slac.com or any of its members. Compliments, complaints, and comments should be addressed to gandalf@tricon.net

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