Barrie - Barbara (IEX) (Metallic Blue)

Barrie Lindsay is the type of artist who is driven by precise visions of how music should sound. However, the 32-year old, soft-spoken, obsessive producer can be cerebral to a fault, prone to intellectualizing her emotions and self-consciously camouflaging herself in her songs.

On Barbara, Lindsay's first ever self-produced album, and second under the moniker Barrie, she battled these self-censoring, self-protective instincts. The result is a beautifully peculiar and quietly ambitious collection of synth-pop, art-pop, indie rock and folk songs that reflect a new willingness to let listeners into her world.