Amy Annelle produces quietly beautiful music that blends Americana and sadcore styles, hushed vocals, highly poetical lyrics, and "found sounds." The Portland, OR, artist came to the Northwest from Chicago, hooking up with Portland "anti-rock" label Hush Records to release her debut album, Which One's You, in 1999. That effort was followed by the similarly lo-fi (in this case, taped on a four-track) School of Secret Dangers in October of 2001. (The album title was pinched from author John Steinbeck.) The effort garnered further comparisons of Annelle to such similarly minded artists as the Cowboy Junkies, Beth Orton, and Elliot Smith. Annelle is also a singer for Portland group the Places, who released their debut, The Autopilot Knows Best, in 2000. ~ Erik Hage