Stuff
Canadian Holly McNarland is living testimony that good things come in small packages. OnStuff, the diminutive waif sings like a woman three times her size, belting out a brand of full-bodied rock and pop that seems to contain experience well beyond her 23 years. But then that's McNarland's style. Sporting tattoos, facial piercings and coiffed with a short, mottled cap of jet black hair, she might have stepped right out of some goth night spot in downtown Toronto. And, judging by more than a few of her song verses, she might just have gone through the kind of experiences she sings about. But whileStuffoften touches on the rougher side of interpersonal, often sexual, relationships, it balances its coarseness with delicacy and maturity. --Nick Heil