ALICE SMITH: FOR LOVERS, DREAMERS AND ME.

Amidst a slew of overproduced R&B divas—Beyoncé, Fergie, even Alicia Keys or Joss Stone—Alice Smith is a breath of good ol’fashioned fresh air. She and her band blend elements of rock, pop and cabaret jazz, but it’s the versatility of her four-octave voice that proves soul music isn’t genre-bound. She’s equally adept at lazily dragging words across a verse like a turntablist (cum Billie Holiday) as she blows out the back end of a song like a tweaty Tina Turner.

Read more music reviews from Kirk Peterson.