Alva Leigh's self-titled debut takes on subjects from travel to natural disaster to death to heaven and hell. Heady stuff for a 22-year old piano-playing singer songwriter, perhaps, but Leigh makes these musical inquiries sound positively exhilarating, with surprise-filled melodies and lyrics that are both poetic and personal.

Produced by John Painter (Ben Folds, Sixpence None The Richer), Leigh's record invites listeners in with intimate vocals wrapped in sparkling arrangements . From the telegraph-tap verses and swooning chorus of "The Road" and the Kate Bush-influenced "Fire In Your Belly" through the sparkling '60s girl group bounce of "Skyline" to the gently soulful "Calling Me" and jazzy post-Katrina reverie of "Hurricane," it's a feast for the ears.

A native of Gulfport, MS, Leigh taught herself piano at a young age, then as a teen discovered her love for singing and songwriting. Influenced by writers of both songs (Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon) and books (Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy), she brings a deep love of language to her own compositions.

"That's what made me fall in love with songs," Leigh says. "When I first heard how lyrics and sound could come together to make something more than their separate parts. Something that can change you. When you hear a good song, with a striking image that you can unpack and take with you and contemplate, it can inspire you in your own life. That's what I aim for with my songwriting."

http://www.alvaleigh.com
http://www.myspace.com/alvaleigh