Lizzie & The Makers Tickets

Lizzie & The Makers' sophomore studio album, Dear Onda Wahl, embroiders their potent Southern-tinged rock with art-rock, dream-pop, and ethereal elements to spawn something all their own. It's one of those rare records that combines single-minded artistry with broad commercial appeal.

Created around the dusky yet soaring timbre of force-of-nature frontwoman Lizzie Edwards, Dear Onda Wahl was produced by Grammy winner Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Prince) and Cure guitarist Reeves Gabrels (Tin Machine, Bowie). Their influence, alongside the textured six-string and pedal-steel expressions of Edwards' writing partner (and Gabrels protégé) Greg McMullen, ensure an intriguingly adventurous, hugely dynamic - and occasionally otherworldly - take on the traditional.

Atop granite foundations of AC/DC and Black Sabbath, NYC's Makers layer the grooving rock of the Allman Brothers and Pink Floyd's melodic psychedelia. But then there are lurking hints of blues/country rootsiness, and McMullen's accomplished love of the avant-garde.

Defying her constant comparisons to Janis Joplin, the classically-trained Edwards summons a heartfelt, nuanced mezzo-soprano shaped by Memphis soul legend Ann Peebles, Heart's Wilson sisters, and jazz icon Billie Holiday. She's assertive, yet vulnerable; defiant, yet proudly flawed.