Colleen Power 
Who: Colleen Power
What: Eclectic debut from a dazzling talent
Where: St. John's, Newfoundland
To Contact: Baygirl Music, PO Box 13423, Station A, St. John's, Newfoundland, A1B 4B7 (709) 576-6785, FAX (709) 726-2466, .

I know we're only a few months into 2001, but I think I've just found my favourite new artist of the year. Colleen Power is from St. John's, Newfoundland, and if you need a convenient comparison, think Melanie Doane meets Liz Phair. But such comparisons can't do justice to someone as original as Colleen. Having performed solo and in various local bands over the past 10 years, she released her debut solo CD, Lucky You Are, this past fall. Let me tell you again, this is one of my favourite CDs of the year. Power's fine singing is sweet and lilting one minute, raucous and raunchy the next. Her delivery and phrasing veer from coy to cocky to caustic. Then there are the songs: beautiful, funny, biting, surprising, kick-ass -- they cover a lot of ground. The gentle, acoustic folk of the title track, the straight-up, punky rock of the hilarious "T-Shirt Song", the razor-edged kiss-off anthem "Liarcheeterloser", and even reggae with "Chickadee". Though it may not endear her to myopic, format-loving record labels, that eclecticism is one of the CD's great attributes. "Every song I write is different from the last one. I don't know what it's gonna be," Power says laughing. She even sings three songs in French. With the singles "Mommy's Boy" and "Happy Girlfriend" getting radio play at college stations in Boston and back home on The Rock, let's hope that's just the beginning. Witty, touching, sassy, charming --Colleen Power is an incredible talent who I'm sure you'll be hearing more from.

Vinnick Sheppard Harte 
Who: Vinnick Sheppard Harte
What: Folk-pop with heavy hooks and heavenly harmonies
Where: Toronto, Ontario
Web Site: www.vshmusic.com
To Contact: (416) 988-5229, .

It's a recurring theme -- the sum becoming more than the individual parts. Witness Crosby, Stills & Nash. Lennon & McCartney. Peanut butter & jam. Well, add to that list the Toronto-based trio Vinnick Sheppard Harte. Individually, Suzie Vinnick, originally from Saskatoon but known around the Ottawa and Toronto scenes, Kim Sheppard, formerly of the West coast group Grace Under Pressure, and Montreal-born Elana Harte are uniquely talented singer/songwriters. Together, though, they are something truly special. After meeting at a festival, Harte asked the other two to join her for an up-coming gig. "There was no real rehearsal," Harte recalls. "The harmonies came together so quickly. We just looked at each other and said 'Uh, something's going on here.' It was magic." They've now spun that magic into a new CD, And They All Rolled Over... The three chose the best of their individual songs and co-wrote others, collaborating on the arrangements. Their driving, rhythmic acoustic guitars and stellar harmonies shine through on the upbeat "Drive That Rhythm", the sprightly "Elvira's Last Ride", an ode to an ailing auto, and the passionate yearning of "Rescue Me". When you see them play live, what really comes across -- aside from the excellent musicianship and killer harmonies -- is that the trio really gets a kick out playing together. There's hardly a moment when they're not sharing a smile. When you add that kind of contagious joy to three wonderful talents, it's a combination that's hard to beat. Anyway you add it, these three make one great act.

Kinnie Starr 
Who: Kinnie Starr
What: Organic, dub-inflected, alterna-hip-hop
Where: Vancouver, BC
Website: www.kinniestarr.com
To Contact: : Violet Inch Records Inc., Box 473 #9 - 916 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K7 (604) 737-0753, FAX (604) 986-0219 .

Whether she's on a "Scrappy Bitches" tour with pals Veda Hille and Oh Susanna, playing with her band handsome boyz 3, or going solo, Kinnie Starr delights in engaging her audience. Previously signed to Mercury Records in the US, Starr released one very well-received album, Tidy, but had her follow-up put on hold while the Universal-Polygram merger was going down. Now, back in indie-land, she's put together her most recent CD, Tune-Up. Its heavily dub-inflected hip-hop grooves have made the album a favourite on college radio, and its organic qualities make it a compelling listening experience. Starr calls it "chunkhop." "I don't have the knowledge base yet to make my beats really super-tight and clean," she says. "But I like that sonically. I'm happy with the way that came out." Heavy dollops of bass hit you in the loins while ambient sonic elements dance around warm Wurlitzer and guitar samples. Starr's entrancing lyrics are alternately sung, rapped, whispered and chanted, mixing the personal and the political while her timing and phrasing keep you pinned. On "Miles", her hypnotic rhyme-flow rides a rootsy guitar figure over a head-bobbing rhythm track, while "Red%x" uses samples of aboriginal chanting with modern beats and Starr rhyming in English, French and Spanish to create a sense of community-in-song. And the aptly titled "Warm" is sweetly sung and as soothing as a cup of hot chocolate on a stormy day. Kinnie Starr is a fiercely original artist, and with Tune-Up, she's definitely firing on all cylinders.

Credit: Jim Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

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