Honey Watts is the new self-titled acoustic/ambient project from Liz Fullerton. The debut album sets Fullerton's songs into a musical fabric of muted tones and soft noises. Some songs are given a simple acoustic presentation, but the record is also by turns ambient or electric, or gently orchestrated, or even experimental. The overall sound defies pat comparisons — early Coco Rosie without the harmonies? P.J. Harvey without the drum machines? — but purely as a vocalist, she is most often compared to 1940s songbirds like Billie Holiday.

Fullerton draws raves for a string of gorgeous, wrenching performances as the vocalist half of trip-hop duo Dutch, with internationally acclaimed producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Jedi Mind Tricks). “There’s a tonal quality to Fullerton’s voice that is both familiar and distant,” wrote one reviewer. (In Your Speakers) “Fullerton sounds like she has a rip in her heart,” wrote another. (Verbicide)

Honey Watts is at once a debut for Fullerton as a “solo artist” and a collaboration with the more sonically adventurous wing of Philadelphia’s thriving folk scene, embodied by producer Jeff Hiatt and guitarist Carl Cheeseman. Key contributions also come from Matthew Landis (World/Inferno) and Andy Keenan (Amos Lee).

Liz Fullerton's songs are largely mournful in tone, both lyrically and musically. Says the songwriter, “On a personal level, I connect with people in a more lighthearted way. With my music, I give myself permission to connect with people’s sorrow. It’s healthy to have music that makes you feel quiet.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.