From the first dramatic, guitar-strumming moments of lead-off track Old Soul, Thea Gilmore s Liejacker exerts a strong emotional and musical pull. You can t tear your ears away, and with good reason. As Gilmore herself says, Essentially what you hear in Liejacker is the transition from the darkest point of my life to probably the lightest. The 28 year-old British singer-songwriter, whose riveting voice at times recalls the elegance of Annie Lennox, has been making intensely personal, socially aware music to considerable acclaim in her homeland since she was a teenager. London s Independent regards her as the best wordsmith of her generation. Uncut labeled Gilmore the best British singer/songwriter of the last ten years - and then some. Liejacker, Gilmore s eighth album, is a bracingly honest testament to hard-fought emotional battles won and to the life-saving power of music. It represents a new beginning for Gilmore; she s found a supportive label, got married, had a son and, on her own, fashioned these wise, poignant songs. The overall feeling of Liejacker is uplifting and redemptive, from the yearning of Old Soul to the examination of the dark impulses stirring within all of us on Icarus Wind to the romantic rapprochement of Breathe. The album s first single is the joyous stunner, Come Up With Me, a newly written track that is only available on the North American release of Liejacker. On the title, Thea says, Making music is one of your best chances in life to be honest. Writing songs is about telling your truths. But you know, the way marketing has gone, there is an assumption that people who take the trouble to buy music can have the wool pulled over their eyes, that they can be sold any s**t and as long as the story behind the act is sensational enough they"ll keep coming back for more. I don"t buy into that. As a listener I can hear dishonesty, when people aren"t really living what they"re singing about. But there are those that will always kick against that. There are a lot of Liejackers out there. I want to make it clear I line up alongside them. This collection of songs is very much a journey, with some vertiginous twists and turns, and Gilmore s destination ultimately turns out to be home. As she explains The idea of exploring the feelings of home and where your roots are have always been quite pertinent to me. I think Liejacker as an album, explores those feelings from a geographical home to a spiritual home, a metaphorical home. There is a big part of me, Gilmore continues, that feels the States are the spiritual home for the music I make. The UK is all well and good, but when it comes to people understanding what I do, I think the only place to be is over here.