Natalie Walker's second solo CD, With You, is a logical progression back to her trip-hop roots. Natalie has a beautiful haunting voice and the atmospheric sound which made Urban Angel such a success is complemented on With You by tasteful new wave dance beats.

On this release, Natalie is once again working with Brooklyn-based Stuhr Productions and they have really given her music a full and very accessible sound. The first two singles from the new disc, "Over And Under" and "Pink Neon", have strong beats and catchy hooks that hold up well against anything in the trip-hop genre. Fans of Portishead, Sneaker Pimps and Natalie's previous band, Daughter Darling, will really enjoy the (re)evolution of Natalie's sound. There are also a couple of cuts like "By and By" and "Only Love" which fit well alongside the tracks from Urban Angel so longtime fans should find enough to like as well.

Lyrically, With You seems very similar to Urban Angel as a number of tunes seem to be about love, loss and relationships. What makes this release more enjoyable than the previous is that it just doesn't seem as uber-serious. I found Urban Angel somewhat of a late-night, come-down record. Tracks like "Ordinary" have a sense of humor where Natalie pokes fun at her boyfriend who thinks he is a prince with his new haircut and new jeans.

Natalie has been touring a lot in support of the new disc (which was released in August on Dorado Records) and she is playing the Organic Entertainment/September Gurl CMJ Showcase at Club Midway on Thursday, October 23rd. The showcase starts at Noon with a DJ set and Natalie is scheduled to take the stage at 5PM.

Links:
Natalie Walker's Website
Natalie Walker's MySpace page