Although My Brightest Diamond, aka Shara Worden, has received an undeniable career boost from the support of indie It Boy Sufjan Stevens (his Asthmatic Kitty label is releasing the debut, "Bring Me the Workhorse," and he brings her on tour as a member of his band), the way her music mixes dramatic, sometimes nearly operatic vocals with artsy, classically influenced indie rock is so very of-the-moment that she surely would have found an audience on her own without much difficulty. It's certainly an impressive debut, with Worden's virtuosic, fearless singing grabbing most of the attention, but while the music is cannily written and expertly played, there's something half-baked about the full package, a weakness highlighted by the occasionally inarticulate songwriting ("It was beautiful/ And terrible," goes the chorus, clumsily spelling out what the music and vocals have already told us).
-- T.B.
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