None of the above really has a whole helluva lot to do with New York-bred indie singer/songwriter Julia Nunes, except that the 21 year old's playful new acoustic pop confection "I Think You Know" sounds awfully bubbly, but its innocent and enchanting music belies the fact the disc is swollen with songs about, well, heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss.
As the new EP's five tunes breeze into your ears like a lover's whisper and a gentle wind on a sunny summer day, Nunes is spilling her both brave and fragile aorta out with astute observations on life, love and the pursuit of happiness.
Nunes got her start -- where else? -- on YouTube as a precocious young teen who used her Web cam, her ingenuity and her beloved ukulele to film multiple versions of herself playing and singing cover tunes and originals and blended them together so she could harmonize with layer after layer of her own voice.
The videos, like their creator, are quirky and irresistible. Nunes is quite the Vaudevillian show gal, even as she invites friends to join in while she strums REM's "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and a gaggle of other scruffy and spunky covers like The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup."
As Nunes has matured, so has her natural songwriting ability, and she now crafts tunes that mirror her tumultuous feelings. Heads spun when she released 2007's "Right Left Wrong" and 2008's "I Wrote These," and the singer just got off a successful road jaunt with Ben Folds.
Which brings us back to "I Think You Know."
Phew.
Get this album. Do whatever is necessary. And make sure you pay for it. Because Nunes' exceptional talent and undeniable allure are destined to take a much bigger bite out of the Big Apple and beyond.
The key to Nunes' style is her ability to think outside the box in crafting her songs. She'll grab anything including the kitchen sink if it will make the sound she's hearing in her head. There's no waxy sheen on anything.
Nowhere is this more apparent than on the disc's opener, a lively title track if there ever was one. Nunes arms herself with her trusty uke, a toy piano, an upright bass, a lonely, muted kick drum and the sound of her fingers snapping, her hands clapping and even a few crisp smacks on her lap to provide percussion.
The music is completely organic, right down to Nunes' angelic voice, which is stacked in so many warm and soothing harmonies it's like listening to a human AutoTune. She's got passion and grace like Natalie Merchant mixed with Liz Phair's restlessness and Fiona Apple's soul.
And it's intoxicating to lean in and listen.
"I'll hold my arms up till the blood drains from my fingertips," she swoons. "My shoulder blades will burn but I won't be the first to quit; But I can't watch as your appendages fall from your sleeves; I want to put you back together if you'll let me."
Nunes evokes the Beta Band on new single "Grown a Pair," which boasts gentle verses and rolling harmonies against shimmering acoustic guitar and soft snare, and young Julia gets fiery on the funky jazz of "Through the Floorboards," which is marked by dense arrangements of the singer's lush pipes in the defiant chorus.
Listening to Nunes is like peering at love letters left behind by an ex, or being privy to delicate text messages sent in the middle of the night. But there's plenty of attitude and swagger, which pulls back the curtain to reveal Nunes is no shrinking wallflower.
Nunes lightens things up again on the lilting and pretty "August," and closes out "I Think You Know" with the another ode to The Dumb Things Guys Do to Girls on "Comatose," which seizes with raw emotion and energy.
Listening Room peeps, listen up: This album is worth your top dollars and your bottom dollars and some dollars in between.
"I Think You Know" is a dazzling sliver of music that deftly demonstrates Nunes' knack for writing songs about love, doubt, fear, hurt and all the other nuisances and necessities that can make such a mess of our lives as works in progress.
Don't worry, Julia. Music lovers -- including this tried and true rock soldier -- will be happy to help you clean up.
The ABC12 Listening Room staff: James Chesna, editor-in-chief; Josh Daunt, managing editor, photographer; LeeAlan Weddel, contributing editor, staff writer, photographer; Beth McEnroe, staff writer, photographer; Gwen Mikolajczak, staff writer; Chris Harris, photographer, staff writer; Eric Fletcher, chief photographer; Randy Cox, photographer; Chris Carr, photographer; Norm Fairhurst, photographer; Jessica Reid, contributing photographer.
