Elizabeth and the Catapult / Sonya Kitchell / Christina Courtin

21+ with ID.

"The Other Side of Zero" is Elizabeth & the Catapult’s newest release and rawest set of recordings yet. Unlike their thoroughly-demoed debut – an album that took two years to complete – the Zero sessions boiled down to a month of recording with producer Tony Berg (Peter Gabriel, Phantom Planet, Jesca Hoop) and such respected sidemen as guitarist Blake Mills and Tom Waits’ longtime touring keyboardist, Patrick Warren. The result was rough but refined, bruised but beautiful, as if Berg had placed a mic in a room and walked away, letting Elizabeth and drummer Danny Molad do their thing. Or as Elizabeth puts it, “This record’s more abrasive, more blatantly honest – perhaps even rude at times. Maybe intentionally so.”

Sonya Kitchell's rare gift may result from some fortuitous conspiracy of genetics and environment, or it may be the manifestation of something more mystical -- but there's certainly no denying her exceptional talent. Kitchell is an eloquent songwriter, dazzling singer and old soul who just happens to be 17 years of age. 

This budding artist's extraordinary gift lies not just in her songs and singing but in the decisions she makes within both realms. To hear where Kitchell chooses to go, one moment to the next, in any of these songs is to experience, all at once, her taste, her preternatural musical savvy and her depth -- as in deep. Once the novelty of this has worn off, the listener can simply soak up the myriad pleasures and insights of Kitchell's debut album, Words Came Back to Me (to be released April 4, 2006, by Velour and Starbucks Hear Music), because this artist's achievements are without caveat -- Kitchell is the real deal, pure and simple. 

Christina Courtin is a New York City based singer, violinist, violist, and composer. As a singer, she has performed alongside and supported such acts as Marianne Faithful, Suzanne Vega, Mike Doughty (of Soul Coughing), Teddy Thompson, Ray Davies (of The Kinks), Aoife O'Donovan (of Crooked Still), Benmont Tench (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Jon Brion, Brooklyn Rider, The Knights, Robyn Hitchcock, and Greg Cohen.