Volcano

As the lead singer of the ’80s hippie-rock band the New Bohemians, Brickell was always sharper than her Birkenstock-babe image let on. Some 15 years later, her chirpy voice — once the quirk that irked — has matured into a dusky croon. And her songs — mostly torchy folk-pop about distant lovers and other romantic near misses — are seductive and slinky, tailor-made to succeed in the current singer-songwriter renaissance. And why shouldn’t they?