Indigo

If Kandace Springs' new album Indigo sounds like something new, that's because it is. Simple while funky. Classic but contemporary. Straightforward in the way it breaks down complex ideas and genres. And, at the end of the day, undeniably human. That said, it isn't quite a rebirth for the Nashville-born artist, who after stints living in New York and Los Angeles has returned back home to Music City. She's long had that lithe and smoky voice and an intensely expressive mastery over the piano. For those paying attention, Kandace's second album finds her unleashing what was there all along, all at once, for the first time.

For Kandace it boils down to a question that connects past to present: "What would Nina Simone do if she had the technology of today? You could never put Nina in a box-she would do a blues followed a classical piece, a jazz standard and then a Beatles cover. This LP took a lot of inspiration from that-it's a mix of everything that I am." Indigo offers a fairly plausible answer to that impossible query: songs that swirl classical composition with quiet-storm cool, jazz poise with hip-hop swing, tropical warmth with soulful depth, and earthen groove with airy psych. With all but two of the tracks here produced by the mighty drummer-producer Karriem Riggins-the living bridge spanning Oscar Peterson and Diana Krall to Erykah Badu and J Dilla-Indigo creates a vibe as familiar as it is previously unheard.