Happenstance

We don't like to make predictions, but the stage is definitely set for Rachael Yamagata's impending ubiquity: Between her exotic good looks and her delicately soulful, universally agreeable tunes, it seems only a matter of time before her full-length debut, Happenstance, is wafting from many a coffee shop, supermarket, and heartening Gilmore Girls interlude. We could do much worse. Melancholy piano ballads abound, lending credence to the Fiona Apple and Norah Jones comparisons sure to dog her, but the urban-boho soul of "1963" and the jaunty "I Want You" demonstrate that Yamagata is capable of switching gears gracefully. Her warm, husky voice flutters, aches, and wails about love going bad or already bad, hinting at a barely contained growl but smartly never unleashing it. The arrangements could stand to take more chances, but Yamagata deserves kudos for proving the middle path needn't be a dead end.