Music pick: Lenka

Last fall I forced Mr. Bean into the car (at gunpoint, no really!) to see Sara Bareilles in San Francisco. Sara is currently one of my favorite soul-sister-with-a-piano performers on the radio these days, so I was dying to see her live. We ended up getting stuck in traffic and missed Sara's opening act, who we knew only as Lenka. While sitting on the freeway bumper-to-bumper, we mused on who this Lenka must be. Girl or boy? Probably a girl, we decided. Band or soloist? Punk or girly?

Curiosity got the best of me about this Lenka person, so the next afternoon I went to ITunes to check her out. She currently has just one debut cd available, but after listening to the 30 second samples that ITunes provides, I really liked it and bought it. For $7.99 I got 10 songs that I can only describe as bubbly, upbeat, and positive. I'm not saying they're all about unicorns and dancing forest creatures, but her lyrics and voice just make me happy. It's a great album to veg out to when I'm writing for a couple of hours at my office and just need to fall into a rhythm with things. I'm happy to say that I must not have chosen too big of a dud because I've since heard 1 or 2 of her songs on the local radio stations! Born in 1978, Lenka started out as a TV actress who then moved to ensemble music in a group. Now she's really hit the US scene with her single "The Show" (one of my favorites).

If you'd like to check her out, try visiting this YouTube link to hear/see her perform "The Show." I think you'll be glad that you did!

P.S. Don't worry, Sara Bareilles! You've still got my iPod's attention!