A month ago, a couple of friends and I went out for a laid back drink at the Cafe Deux Soleils here in Vancouver. We didn't expect to have stumbled upon what I later found out wasn't an open-mic act but an actual show by Oakland, California-born musician Zoe Boekbinder. The crowd was small and intimate, perfectly befitting of Zoe's music which I did not expect to mesmerize me as much as it did. She's not a typical girl-with-acoustic-guitar act; she has a really unique voice and really knows how to stretch her vowels. Her songs are fun and quirky, light and fluffy, although her quirkiness tends to translate into stage-banter that lasts too long. She also uses a loop-pedal to create cool vocal harmonies.
One thing I really like about Zoe Boekbinder is that she incorporates some carnivalesque elements into her songs. "Adventures of Turtle and Seahorse," for example, clearly shows this continuing influence from her days in Vermillion Lies, her pseudo-cabaret duo with her sister Kim.
In addition to Zoe Boeknbinder's self-released debut album Artichoke Perfume, she also has a seven-song EP called Awkward Like Cut Melon that's worth checking out.
