Emily Easterly

With a mix of D.I.Y. attitude, guitar proficiency, and songwriting skills modeled after Cat Power and Exile in Guyville-era Liz Phair, Emily Easterly made her debut in 2001 with the self-released Assembling Emily. Featuring collaborations with several of Easterly's hometown heroes (including Sparklehorse's Alan Weatherhead and Cracker guitarist Johnny Hickman), the record was issued during the songwriter's final weeks of high school in Richmond, VA. The following months saw Easterly relocating several hours south to study music at the University of Miami, where she released Cole in 2002 and garnered support from college radio. Seasons Never Change followed in 2005, boasting an intimate, stripped-down sound that reflected upon the singer's four-year stay in sunny Miami, and Easterly subsequently moved to Brooklyn to pursue her craft full-time. Inspired by Neil Young, the Beatles, and Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, Heart Comma Heart arrived in late 2007. The following year, Easterly teamed up with fellow songwriter JSeger to record a split single, Please, Please Say Goodnight/City Love Is Strange, which was released on 45-rpm vinyl that fall. ~ Andrew Leahey