Itasca - Unmoored by the Wind (2014)

2014 release from Folk guitarist and songwriter Kayla Cohen AKA Itasca. Where 2012's GRACE RIDERS ON THE ROAD reveled in homemade intimacy, UNMOORED BY THE WIND opens to the world, reaching a timeless, near-baroque yearning; each of these 11 tracks burns with a unique vision. At once soft-spoken and virtuosic, Cohen's mesmerizing finger-picking lays gauzy groundwork for vocal work More than ever before, though, Cohen's confident singing is laid bare; vocals ride on top of arrangements, taking their rightful place in the forefront. The effect is arresting, while at the same time staying true to the seductive ghostliness that has come to characterize her sound.