Wicked Little High
WithWicked Little High, a familiar face looks set to become a familiar voice. A busy actress with a long list of credits--including a recurring role onThe West Wing--Kathleen "Bird" York had a bit part in best picture winnerCrash. More significantly, she wrote and performed the Oscar-nominated theme song "In the Deep" (an honor shared with co-writer Michael Becker). There's more where that mesmerizing number came from on the striking redhead's seductive Narada debut. Take the title track, for instance, in which York can't resist the charms of a Mr. Wrong who's like "the fifth drink before a long drive home," but "desire is such a wicked little high when the one you want is blind to you." Sounding like Sia's sexy older sister, York wraps her smoky alto around 11 other tales of lust and loss, including the Isaac Hayes-penned r&b; classic "Hold On, I'm Coming"--a top 10 hit for Sam & Dave--here reinvented as blue-eyed soul with a trip-hop beat. On other tracks, she assumes the voice of a teenage runaway in the grips of young love ("Open Wider") and an elderly widow grappling with loneliness ("Save Me"). A revamped version of 2003'sThe Velvet Hour("Freedom" and "Hold On" replace "Haunting You" and "Never Gonna Find Us"),Wicked Little Highfeatures contributions from producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel) and guitarist Steve Caton (Tori Amos).--Kathleen C. Fennessy