The May Street Project

Every once in a while, there comes along a female artist who can shake music to the foundations.

Madonna did it two decades ago and can still manage it; Fiona Apple was supposed to do it but hasn't quite managed to sustain the initial interest. Shea Seger on this evidence at least, could rattle a few cages along the way.

Her music is a spiky diary of life in small-town America, with identifiable map references to Ricky Lee Jones, Alanis Morisette and Joan Osborne to name but three.

But in her own right, Seger creates music that is diverse, engaging, full of little surprises, and totally listenable. The music gets right under your skin and the words make you marvel at the endless potential of the English language.

Quite a debut.