Captain

An immediate hit in Kasey Chambers's native Australia, The Captain is both engaging and off putting, a debut disc that rarely rises above country-rock clichés, but they're agreeable clichés. Chambers has a strong and versatile voice that's occasionally little-girl precious (think Natalie Imbruglia), but is more often beautiful, high, and fragile (imagine Julie Miller, whose husband Buddy contributes harmony here). All of which makes it the perfect instrument for the conflicted title track, where Chambers expresses desire for love and support, then pushes that admirable impulse to such a subservient extreme ("You're the captain, I am no one") that one can't help but fear the song's a recipe for heartbreak--especially since the song is delivered without a shred of irony. But if you don't dissect her words too much, Chambers's fetching melodies, roots-rock arrangements, and Lucinda Williams-derived phrasing are always entertaining. --David Cantwell