Sometimes it's hard to review an artist's debut album when it's actually following on from all the reviews you've done of the releases that actually followed it. You have to put yourself in a place where you imagine you've never before heard anything and that this is your first exposure to the singer. That said, I can honestly say that if I'd heard this album first, I'd be wanting more later. There are 14 tracks – all originals – all of which revolve around the gorgeous vocal prowess of Esther, who has a warm vocal of great strength, showcasing a voice that spans the scale yet stays mostly in the mid-range, sometimes sultry, sometimes spiralling out tot he skies, always wondrous, full of feeling and packed with emotion. The arrangements vary from bouncing folk-rockers to primarily acoustic heartfelt ballads, and nearly every song has an immediacy that is amazing, while at the same time being the sort of thing into which you can really sink your teeth, lyrically rich, superbly sung and delivered with passion, track after track after track. Moving from the beautiful delicacy of “Driftwod And Dreams” to the red hot commercial folk-rocker that is “Move On” is nothing short of summing up the lady's whole world in just two tracks, the latter scything through with multi-tracked vocal harmonies, choruses of quality and lead vocals that really take off, as the band provide solid, choppy rhythms, scorching lead guitars and fuzzy riffs, on a song that drives forward to a distant fade. Elsewhere there's the gentle yet solid swing of “Nirvana Man”, an almost Amercanised lilt to the vocals on the verses, as they lift up into some semblance of a hook, as crisp acoustic and flowing drumming provide a backing that gradually streams forward as the vocals fly up and down the scale on a song that's got a real seventies flavour to it. In fact, despite the modern nature of the album, many of the songs do have a decided seventies flavour to them while, at the same time still immediately identifiable as modern indie songwriting with a folky flavour. On an essentially commercial pop-folk-indie album that's got everything from soothing ballads to leap-about-the-room rockers, there's a definite sense of quality songwriting and singing that's at the very heart of things as song after song work their way into your heart. Even if you love everything she's done since this was recorded, you'll find nothing left wanting and everything to gain from visiting this fine debut album.