Pure and Simple: Christina Courtin

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IT'S THE BEST singers who make it all look too easy.

Christina Courtin's debut album on Nonesuch is deceptively simple, but it's certainly not a case of a novice messing around in order to find her true calling. Having been a musician since the age of 3, Courtin takes her craft very seriously, but it's because she already knows what she does best. What makes her songs so lovely is that her seriousness unexpectedly translates into music that, while drawing mostly from folk influences, also exhibits something like the spontaneity of jazz.

Courtin, who recently graduated from The Juilliard School and has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, shows her classical roots right off the bat. "Mulberries" languishes in emotive piano; "February" plays like a scene from a Spanish opera in which the lone soprano takes center stage to lament what she's lost. But Courtin also proves her diversity and a real talent for folk-pop — "Foreign Country" is a standout track for its bluegrass experimentation and its novel use of the lap-slide guitar, and nowhere is Courtin's voice as expressive as it is in the trembling scales of a country song.

But even the most accomplished soloist needs backup, and Courtin brings collaborators into the mix for valuable contributions: multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion plays guitar, keyboard and the underutilized Marxophone; Punch Brothers member Gabe Witcher plays violin on "One Man Down"; and Greg Leisz, Jim Keltner and Marc Ribot show up on a few tracks, too.

One of the signs of talented musicians is how natural and instinctive they're able to sound on albums. The most easygoing and lighthearted recordings are always among the best, the ones that don't reveal months of rehearsal or any strain to hit notes or stay on rhythm. Courtin's voice is effortless adaptable, weaving in and out of the instrumentation, constantly playing with texture and volume, never particularly anxious about how it sounds, but never perfectly content, either.

The beautiful vocals are clearly the highlight on the album, but it's easy to get lost in the violin and cello in "Rainy," and the rich combination and variety of sounds, including organ and lap steel guitar, on "Unzipped" almost steal the show from Courtin's voice. It may only be her debut album, but considering her confirmed songwriting and singing abilities, Courtin already sounds like a veteran.

Written by Express contributor Afton Woodward

Photo courtesy Nonesuch