This was a big surprise, then, when a sweet, female-fronted acoustic ballad – with whistling – opened the album. Jealous of the Birds is Northern Irish singer-songwriter Naomi Hamilton, whose airy voice massages, even on the mournfully delicious anti-suicide ballad of the title track. She ramps up the guitar occasionally – and successfully – for a garagey feel, and there’s also the sneery blues chug of “Powder Junkie”, another treat. What’s great is that, while she dips into it on songs such as “The Zodiac Bar”, Hamilton mostly stays away from the whole ethereal-ambient post-Cocteaus thing that would seem the obvious choice for her voice, instead focusing on lyrical songs that the old Brill Building masters would be pleased with.
The Fat Angel Sings 