Lauren Lapointe is an acclaimed live performer of folk acoustic music. Born Canadian but raised in Georgia, she left her nine-to-five desk job in 2001 to start songwriting. Trusting her instincts yielded well-received live performances and her acclaimed first album, 2005's Beautiful Shadow. Butterfly is more personal, allowing Lapointe to focus on feelings and moods, places she's seen and people she's known.

Lapointe wrote all but one song on the album, with the only cover being The Eurythmics' "Here Comes the Rain Again." On this track, the mechanized '80s pop percussion and keyboards are replaced by cello and an organic feel and the mood of the words really comes through beautifully. "The Last Tree" is an environmental ballad with Joni Mitchell-like observations, but "Canadian Belle" has more in common with Mitchell, musically. "My Baby" feels more bluegrass in style and sound. It's a simple beat, but it's not solemn or forlorn. Lapointe's persona is deeply in love with a man, flaws and all. He makes her feel extremes of emotions and she can't get enough.

Harmonica, upright bass, and twinkling mandolin show Lapointe's Southern exposure, sans the accent. "Lonely Road" seems to capture a vision quest in song, with simple piano and cello accompaniment. "I Don't Know" and "The Sound of the Sea" are in the Celtic vein, using mandolin, flutes and violins to convey mood. "Ballerina Girl" tells the true story of a middle-aged accountant being inspired to start a career in ballet. "La Loca" tells the story of a princess driven mad by love. "Lady Charlotte" tells the true story of one of Lapointe's ancestors eloping with the gardener to start a new life in Canada.

Lapointe has definitive gifts with melody and lyric. Her choices in life, love and passion inspired this album. It is evident she has plenty more stories to tell in the coming years. (Self-released)
www.laurenl.com