Grace FMA

Ultra confident, the Australian showcases her blueprint for soulful pop success. The debut album from Grace Sewell is a confident package of ballads that toggle between pleading love songs (“Coffee”, “Feel Your Love”) and reckonings of independence ("Hell of a Girl”, “You Don’t Own Me”). The latter is a cover of Lesley Gore’s 1963 feminist anthem, and, like the original, was produced by the legendary Quincy Jones. It's a challenge that would intimidate most young artists, but Sewell, who channels the swagger of Amy Winehouse and muscle of Etta James, rises to the task.