Unsigned Artist: Shannon LaBrie

Shannon LaBrie returns with a mature, soulful presence and poignant material that shows an artist who’s lived life and feels deeply. The lengthy “It’s Political” takes incisive shots at our electoral malaise, and it’s a song whose expert guitar licks perhaps overshadow LaBrie’s moody vocal. We’re most impressed by her songs of personal trauma, the ghostly “Heaven Crashed Down” and the mournful piano ballad “Crumble,” about dealing with the fallout from loved ones’ cancer death and alcoholism, respectively. These songs, with their memorable turns of phrase, really resonate, and the production (right down to the rich, meaty snare) enhances the mood, really puts LaBrie’s aching delivery right on target. Labels and music supervisors should check this out.