On the Rocks: Pree

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WHEN MAY TABOL SINGS, it sounds like she has rocks in her mouth. That's not an insult, either: Her distinctive voice is what helps give Pree's hypnotic indie-folk songs such a unique sound.

"I wanted Pree to have a bit of a jarring character so I thought an affected voice would be more appropriate for that than what one would use for singing harmonies or something of that nature," said Tabol, 25. "I also like the idea that singing doesn't have to necessarily be pretty, at least in a traditional sense, in order to be compelling."

But her voice is pretty, just nontraditional. On Pree's debut release, the "A Chopping Block" EP (The Kora Records), Tabol sounds like an off-balance mixture of Cat Power's Chan Marshall and Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, clipping her notes and swallowing her words while belting lyrics that are full of longing.

"Each song follows a different narrator who's completely baffled by their situation, either due to their peripheral involvement in a larger story they have little control over, or by a fractured understanding of the people around them," Tabol said.

"[The EP title] has a lot to do with self-examination — taking a good, hard look at yourself and deciding what parts of you need to go and what's worth keeping. It also reflects the editing process involved in songwriting and recording, as well as the trepidation that — at least for some — goes along with putting yourself on a stand for others to judge."

Tabol is a former member of another D.C. group, Le Loup, which helped her focus her compositions.

"I'd written songs for a couple years before playing with Le Loup," she said, "but I'd had no real sounding board until I started playing with them and learning how to critically arrange and edit songs. Coming up with lines or riffs isn't necessarily difficult — the challenge is seeing each song through until it represents a unified and relevant idea, and then effectively capturing that in a recording."

The gorgeous "A Chopping Block" captures the songs perfectly, sounding like a stripped down, female-fronted Modest Modest. The five tunes leave the listener wanting more, and Tabol promises a full album is in the works. Until then, swoon to her rocky voice at the March 19 CD release party at the Black Cat.

"What's great about a live show is that it can be a completely different experience than what's conveyed on a particular recording," Tabol said. "It's been a welcome challenge to take the songs in a completely different direction with the use of loops, delays, and new instrumentations. Working with Chris DeWitt, Vanessa Degrassi and David Barker has really been fantastic — I've been lucky to find people who can breathe new life into the songs, and I think it really shows in the live performances."

» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; with Meredith Bragg and Birdlips, Thu. Mar. 19, 9 p.m., $8; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)

May Tabol photos by Christopher Porter/Express; group photo by Charlotte Kesl