Nataly Dawn’s voice is girlishly mature, if that’s possible: wide-eyed with a cute affect and an implicit understanding that maybe both of those are untenable in the long run. She’s parlayed it into Internet fame as half of Pomplamoose, and “How I Knew Her” knows not to mess with the formula too much; she’s even plunked her Pomplamoose partner Jack Conte down in the producer’s seat. But unlike their previous overdubbed recordings, the album has the nicely ramshackle clomp of a live band, and Dawn loosens up accordingly. The bluesy “Even Steven” is too frisky to be a genuine excoriation — maybe most evident when she uses “apple-eatin’ ” as an insult — but there’s certainly a relish in her voice as she gives the title fellow the what-for. Even a lovely, measured waltz of just piano and strings like “Why Did You Marry” wanders down unexpected alleyways without ever losing sight of the main road. Dawn maintains her playfulness, even when she's dead serious. (Out Tuesday)
ESSENTIAL “Even Steven”