Amanda Thorpe brings the concept of the chanteuse into the 21st century with Mass. There's a smoky, intimate ambiance to this record, as if the studio was moved into a nightclub with a very large tab set up for the participants. Thorpe runs her jazzy folk/pop songs through a variety of electronics-tinged textures, bringing upbeat pop songs and seductive balladry under the same darkly romantic umbrella. Held together as much by Thorpe's versatile singing as by her love noir vision, Mass silkily moves through the crowd with a drink in one hand, the other lightly brushing your shoulder as it passes by. For fans of: Jane Siberry, Holly Palmer, Joe Henry HIGH BIAS Michael Toland