Now that I've taken care of my obligatory Favorites of 2008 list, it's time to move forward with some new tunes to caress your eardrums. And what better way to start than with Meaghan Smith? Listening to her new four track EP The Cricket's Quartet, it really is no surprise that she grew up listening to old musicals like Calamity Jane, My Fair Lady, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. It's got that old-timey feeling that makes you think her music should be coming out of the horn of a gramophone, particularly the EP's first track I Know (which uses a comparatively newer Mellotron sample). The second track, A Little Love (which you can hear below), sounds a little more recent (including some scratching) but retains the seemingly simplistic intrumentation of the first track, light and refreshing. If You Asked Me moves back in time for a dancehall jitter, and then the EP finishes up with Drifted Apart, an almost jazzy waltzish sounding number.

Altogether, an interesting debut that shows some promise for the future.