Jaia Suri thinks outside the box. I'm not aware of anyone else who's thought to use a slide on a banjo. She makes up tunings. She makes good use of those little drum flourishes, on the body of the instrument. And she is quite astute in using the occasional well placed dissonance. Jaia's playing is very deliberate, yet possesses a rolling, leisurely quality that puts me in mind of strolling an empty beach at dawn. Then there's her voice. Years of dance training seem to have been conveyed to her larynx. Her voice capers, like a swallow in flight, rising and whirling, and, once or twice, dropping to a soft growl. There are plaintive voicings, pained voicings, ironic voicings, and overall a reflective voice, concerned about the path of destiny - personal and global. Our common yearnings, losses, and struggles toward personal freedom are articulated in her poetry. And her voice feels and loves her words. "Fire in the Archives" is Jaia's testimony of personal loss in the songs, "So Sober", "Heart Well Gave" and "Five Cents More." It is her chronicle of the costs and joys of life on the road in "The Wind in Massachusetts" and "Train Wreck Harmonies." Other themes include personal destiny, sexual harrassment in the workplace, homecoming, and the tension between independence and interdependence in relationships. "Fire in the Archives" is a well crafted, independent release, containing fourteen original songs, which disclose a contemporary, acoustic singer/songwriter who marches to the beat of a different drummer...often as not - herself.