Becca Stevens Band: Powerful Voice, 'Perfect Animal'

Guitarist and singer Becca Steven's resume includes stints with the adventurous jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding, electrifying trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and hip-hop inflected jazz vocalist José James. She’s been part of New York’s so-called “indie classical” scene, and contributed to a compilation of Laura Nyro covers. So you might guess that The Becca Stevens Band would not be your typical indie rock group. And you’d be right.

The band’s debut record is called Perfect Animal, and it’s full of shimmering, strangely augmented chords; angular melodic swoops and dives; and rhythms that catch the ear but don’t settle where you expect. There are also breathtaking forays into pop and even R&B, including covers of songs by Frank Ocean and Usher. The result is a pulsing, personal experience, guided by Stevens' singular voice and vision, that is the most exciting entry on her resume yet.