Need To Know: Lay Low

Lovisa Elisabet Sigrunardottir -- aka Lay Low -- was pitched to me as "Iceland's Patsy Cline" about six weeks ago. Aside from a little drunken partaking in a Shania Twain remix now and again, I'm not the hugest country fan -- even old country (I get it -- I respect it -- I just don't really want to listen to it) -- and I wasn't convinced that Lay Low was someone I'd be interested in -- until I heard her sing. Her latest effort, Farewell Good Night's Sleep, is the kind of album that you stumble upon once every four or five years. The songs -- while sounding plucked straight out of mid-20th century Nashville -- feel even more current than other acts who are mining the past for inspiration, perhaps because of the lack of pretense in Lovisa's writing, voice, and her approach to her craft.

I was lucky enough to spend a little time with Lovisa a few weeks ago and we chatted about her music, how she stumbled into the spotlight and why starting Lay Low was the perfect time for her to come out (and vice versa):

Afterward, she treated my video team and me to two acoustic songs. The first, "By and By," is my favorite off the new album:

The second, "Mojo Love," is from her debut album, Please Don't Hate Me, which earned Lovisa two Icelandic Grammys:

Lovisa is just beginning to venture in the U.S. -- she played a few shows earlier this year in NYC -- but after falling in love with Farewell Good Night's Sleep -- seriously one of the best albums I've heard in years -- I have no doubt that she'll soon find a home here. In fact, I've already converted most of the Out editors into rabid, drooling Lay Low fans. Now it's your turn.

-- NOAH MICHELSON

Previously > Hummer: Kate Nash's "Do Wah Doo"