Adam's Pick of the Week: Nadia Reid - Listen to Formation, Look For The Signs

Listen to Formation, Look For The Signs was released last year in Nadia's native New Zealand. According to some very sardonic New Zealand bloggers, there's a large amount of musicians flying the 'Americana' flag in NZ right now, and these purveyors of fine blogspot criticism are just sick of it. Many of them, however, seem to agree that Nadia Reid soars above the pack. That is most likely because her sound does not fall under 'folk' or 'Americana' but it transcends easy designation.

This is an incredibly powerful album, no matter what you choose to call it stylistically. The backing band really has that whole yearning restraint thing down - they always sound like they're building to something that may not necessarily come, but it adds a tension to the songs that, paired with Reid's warm voice (it's like the blanket we all need to be wrapped in this time of year) makes for an extremely moving experience.