Catching a Tiger

iTunes Review

If singer/songwriters have “made it” when they find their music on TV shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The O.C.,” then pop-folk diva Lissie has made it big-time. But before you write her off for those very accomplishments, take a listen to the deeply charming “Little Lovin’” and “Cuckoo,” the Mazzy Star-flavored ballad “This Much I Know,” or the breezy, windows-down-on-the-country-road tune, “When I’m Alone,” and then try to resist sampling another song. This transplanted Midwesterner now lives in the California desert — wisely just near enough to and far enough from L.A. — and her work is taking on the flavor of a supremely confident artist, blooming with the grace and strength of a cactus flower. Lissie’s dusky, willowy vocals are both fresh and familiar (Stevie Nicks by way of Thao Nguyen), and her music retains just enough edge to keep a person interested; a tune like “Stranger” comes on as strong as any radio-hit wannabe, but drenched in a vintage feel and peppered with Lissie’s own vinegary sass, it won’t likely find a home in the parched landscape of American radio. Their loss.