Holly Miranda - The Magician's Private Library

To enlist a name like Dave Sitek to produce your solo debut isn't the no-strings guarantee of success you might expect it to be. Because while the TV on the Radio guitarist is regarded as a top button pusher for his work with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wale and his own band, the danger for ex-Jealous Girlfriend Holly Miranda was that it could seem more like a collaboration than her first statement of breakaway intent. And so it does, but that's no bad thing. Miranda's light, ethereal, Cat Power-like singing actually benefits from Sitek's brassy, bassy backing tracks. It may not be bursting with memorable choruses, but Miranda is clearly aiming her sights further than the fickle mirage of pop success. Songs like the otherworldly Joints or the PJ Harvey sound-a-like No One Just Us suggest that she has the talent to carve out a long, successful career on the other side of the tracks. [Nick Mitchell]