Kimbra: My new crush

For 30 minutes a day I'm in my car, which means I blast my radio to drown out the rest of the city. One of my favorite new songs is Gotye's heart-breaking and extremely catchy "Somebody I Used to Know". The amazing female singer on the track is Kimbra, my new crush. And yours too... Thanks to YouTube, I have become obsessed with her - not only does she have interesting style and a voice of gold but she's extremely innovative and ecclectic. Many compare her to Nina Simone and Bjork, and in fact she covers Simone's "Plain Gold Ring". However since I lived in Toronto and watched many talented friends become famous musicians (Broken Social Scene, Feist, Metric, Peaches), I totally see parts of Leslie Feist, Peaches and Emily Haines of Metric within Kimbra - fearless, vulnerable, odd, sexy and fucking talented. She's a force to be rekoned with. Born in 1990 (!) her musical arrangements and influences seem to be all over the place, which definitely speaks to her generation (who have grown up with endless creative inspiration and musical history a mouse-click away). You'll see what I mean in the videos below, especially when she mixes a Tears for Fears song with a Grizzly Bear one. Enjoy!

Live Mashup of Tears for Fears & Grizzly Bear

"Settle Down"

"Plain Gold Ring", a Nina Simone cover

"Cameo Lover", her dance/pop track