New Artist to Listen For: Priscilla Ahn

With a soothing voice and light guitar accompaniment, Priscilla Ahn is an artist who will no doubt soon be a household name. Having just wrapped up touring with Ingrid Michaelson on the Hotel Cafe Tour as well as getting ready to release her debut full-length album June 10, Ahn has been keeping busy.

I recently received an advance copy of debut album, A Good Day, and can't stop listening to it! While her voice is reminiscent of Ingrid Michaelson and fellow newcomer, Colbie Caillat, Ahn definitely has her own style.

Light and airy, Ahn opens up A Good Day with stand-out track "Dream" - a song starting off with light guitar accenting her vocals incredibly well. She sings about childhood dreams in lyrics, "I had a dream I could fly from the highest swing/I had a dream/Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park/I asked God who I'm supposed to be." A song many can relate to. Next track is "Wallflower," a story about a shy girl standing in the corner of a party, wishing she was more outgoing.

To watch a video of "Dream" and Ahn performing "Wallflower" live click here for Windows Media, here for Real Media and here for Quick Time. You can also check out the music video for "Dream" below.



A Good Day is also made up of some of Ahn's favorite cover songs, such as Willie Nelson's "Opportunity To Cry." While some songs seem a little more obscure at first listen, such as "Astronaut," when I covered a New York date of the Hotel Cafe Tour, I remember Ahn saying, “This song is called ‘Astronaut’ and it’s about astronauts.” It can't be too difficult to understand, right? Another song, “Leave the Light On,” she later told the audience, was inspired and written when she was 18 and living in Pennsylvania with her parents, practically in the middle of the woods. Coming home late at night, her parents would never leave the lights on and she was constantly scared that she was surrounded by “cougars, bears and rapists” in the dark.

The entirety of A Good Day is enjoyable and relaxing. It's one of those albums that you won't get tired of listening to. While some songs have harmonica features, others have light, bell sounding xylophone accompaniment, keeping each track fresh.

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out Priscilla Ahn on MySpace and pick up her album in stores in June!