Sneak Peek Album Review: Marie Digby's "Breathing Underwater"

26 year old Marie Digby first gained attention when she won the 2004 Pantene Pro-Voice competition with her song "Miss Invisible," which led to a record deal with Hollywood Records. But what really brought her to public attention was a May 2007 Youtube video of her performing Rihanna's smash hit "Umbrella" on guitar for 2 minutes and 16 seconds. Partly due to her talent and beauty, and partly due to hype and word of mouth, the video has garnered over 13 million views.

As All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine put it so well, "Digby possesses a warm, sweet voice but she's more of a conversational singer than a showy diva, which was the secret to her 'Umbrella' cover, as she zeroed in on both the melody and the emotional thrust of the song."

Due to the attention generated by the acoustic cover video, as well as other cover videos, such as Linkin Park's "What I've Done" and Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder," Digby was able to get the backing of her label to release her full-length debut album-titled Unfold-on April 8, 2008 in the United States.

And now, her sophomore set, Breathing Underwater, is scheduled to be released on July 21, 2009. Whereas she was reminiscent of Michelle Branch on Unfold, the new album sounds like the result of Michelle Branch mixed with production normally associated more closely with R&B/pop singers like Jordan Sparks.

The production is noticeably slicker, with beats and her lush, multi-layered vocals apparent throughout the album. And yet it's controlled enough that Digby's voice doesn't become drowned by production, as it was at times on her debut.

The title track, "Feel" and "Machine" are album highlights, with the last one being my favorite. She clearly has a better chance of breaking into the charts this time around, as the production gives the songs more punch and swing, but a mainstream radio breakthrough single isn't obvious.

The album's 13 tracks clock in at 48 and a half minutes, with Brian Kennedy producing more than half of it. It's a shame that a bouncy, cheery track called "Sanctuary" (which plays on a Youtube video of a photo shoot for Breathing) is only available as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album. But in the end, Digby still comes off as a very likeable singer-songwriter, easily avoiding the sophomore slump.

Two songs off the album, "Avalanche" and "Symphony" are already available on iTunes for download.