Joan As Police Woman: Real Life

FOR JOAN WASSER, having to defer her debut due to viola playing commitments with Antony And The Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright and Scissor Sisters was probably a blessing. Were it not for years immersed in such individual company, it surely wouldn't be the flooringly beautiful curiosity it is. A lifetime of music - soul, jazz, thrift-store rock, gospel, new wave - channelled through gentle melodies and a voice full of naivety, it’s an unlikely, yet sweet mix, united by Wasser’s need to find hope in despair. And whether the title track’s Parisian romance or 'I Defy''s dead-eyed strut, her tender tug between the two is absolutely devastating.