Fingers and Thumbs by Polly Paulusma

a Review by Amy Producer of Collected Sounds

I have only a passing familiarity with Polly's previous work. I heard one of her songs on the radio (Mea Culpa), and then we connected on MySpace. At the time I offered to review her CD but some wires got crossed (or maybe *not crossed) and I never got it. So I really only knew the songs I'd heard on the radio, but her name always stuck with me as someone to pay attention to. So when I heard she had a new record out I was very happy to review it.

For one thing, how adorable is she? Her album cover reminds me of those old 70s hippie covers. But the color is so rich and the photography so good, you know it's current.

Her voice has that sweet almost girlish quality, but she's not singing about childish things. There's something very appealing in that contradiction.

These songs are very well written. The melodies are catchy without being predictable and the lyrics are perfect.

One track that really caught my attention is the title song, Fingers And Thumbs. Upon first listen it already felt like an old friend.

Back To The Start struck me as a song that would either play really well on the radio or be a great moment live. Probably both. But I can' just see a room full of half drunk people pumping their fists, bobbing their heads and singing along. Ready or Not is like this too.

I read her bio on her website and cried. Go read it, really. It is so well written I felt like I was right there with her.

This is a great album and one I'm sure will be in my personal rotation for quite some time.

Posted on August 27, 2007