Album Notes

No one is capable of composing the intelligent and adorable cuddlecore sound quite like Lisa Alice.

"Lisa Alice...is quirkier than your standard girl with guitar. She's also better." - Heather Fielding, PostHoc.com

"Lisa Alice weaves the sweetest of acoustic gal pop." - Aquarius Records

"Lisa Alice is in that small group of artists who are stupendous solo...Lisa's solo work pulls, pushes, pulls, shoves, tugs and, yes, somehow holds us close the entire time." - Kelly Nathanson, Portland Girls

Of all the places for one's musical career to begin, a college philosophy department might sound like a rather peculiar option, but it was for a philosophy department seminar that Lisa recorded her first song. Though she had been singing since she was a child and playing piano since age five, it wasn't until college that Lisa picked up a guitar and joined a band, writing half of the group's material and contributing lead vocals. In 1998, Lisa struck out on her own. Within her first year as a solo artist, she won a semifinalist spot in the Lilith Fair Talent Search. The following year she was a finalist in the same competition. Lisa spent two years practicing in her apartment, playing with the acoustics created by wood floors and a lack of furniture, and saving up money to record and release some of her material. In 2000, Lisa made her recorded debut with the Pygmalionic EP, and it didn't take long for her to sell every copy that was pressed. She followed up in 2003 with the full-length That Thing in Your Hand, which includes the much-praised "Push Girl," a song that has garnered prizes from Billboard and the Recording Academy.

Now Lisa offers the new Plans in Pencil, an audiophile EP of five new songs. Recorded in analog and mastered by Grammy-winning producer Cookie Marenco, Lisa's Plans in Pencil EP is home to five cuddlecore folk-pop songs, each of which shows off her remarkable variety of influences and skills. Among the list of those who Lisa says have had an impact on her creatively, you'll find a little bit of everything. From classic songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Emily Saliers, to poets like Walt Whitman, Sharon Olds, and Carl Phillips. From the classical music of Bach and Beethoven, to musicals like "Annie." From Poi Dog Pondering to Neil Diamond. From rock and pop to dance and hip-hop. In Lisa's music listeners can hear the easy mingle of originality and influence: the syncopated rhythms, alternate tunings, intelligently poetic lyrics, and expressive, breathy voice.