Kelsey Lu escaped an intensely religious upbringing to embark on a life in music. Her debut record, the aptly titled
Church, is both a reaction to, and a product of that upbringing: the record hangs on the interaction of her honeyed, rich voice and her often looped cello playing -- which she learned whilst steeped in the Jehovah's Witness community -- while she is lyrically cutting about her past. The resulting record is an unusual marriage of soulful folk and gospel. ~ Bekki Bemrose