The greatest musical discoveries come by accident, and there’s nothing better than an accident that sets you back a meager $4.99. Four years ago, I was hooked by a stranger’s face while flipping through a used CD bin in the last great record store chain in the metro Detroit area. This particular face consumed an album cover and commanded my attention. I wasn’t sure why at first, she seemed a standard pale and curly haired songstress, but defiance crept out of that look and stayed my rapid-fire hand. That’s the way Carina Round works, she creeps up on you with a subtle glimpse of talent, and once you start paying attention, BAM! Her true power of skill and seduction is released.

I can give her to you straight up: Young British singer/guitarist raised by independent woman flourishes in musical arena at early age and struggles through her twenties to rise above the watered down playboy bunnies deemed excuses for entertainment. Round is indeed a part of a long line of talented Brits come over seas, but how many of them can say they’ve earned the love and respect of Patti Smith and Lou Reed, and almost knocked out Jack Nicholson with an airborne high-heel which resulted in a collective whiskey binge?

Because musical tastes are varied, I may not sway some by merely stating that Round’s sound is simply awesome. Most journalists compare her to PJ Harvey, which is code for “awesome guitar-based rock female vocalist.” While the comparison is understandable, she leans more toward the Patti Smith end of the spectrum, with a healthy dash of Jeff Buckley, Garbage and bad assness.

I’m all for being a pretentious, secretive music snob, but when I hear that this woman is hand-making CDs and selling them on Ebay so she can get her guitar fixed, despite the fact that she is signed to a major label, it is clear that it would be beneficial to her creativity if a healthy amount of musically inclined folks were clued in. Carina Round’s record company has no idea what to do with her. Alleged singles have come and gone with nary a radio debut or three song promo. She has in some measure or another unleashed several videos for songs on her new record on her MySpace page. Such goodies are fantastic for die-hard fans like me, but it’s hardly conducive to an artist trying to make herself known in the world to people who aren’t actively looking.

The chorus to what was supposed to be the first single off her third record states “I will not come to you.” Clearly her record company took this to heart, delaying her album for a year and unleashing it only this past June. This left Round holed up in L.A. for an ungodly amount of time, unable to tour. Recently she’s been thrust upon a national tour as support for a fairly generic sounding Scottish post-punk 80s sounding group dubbed The Cinematics. If the record industry is still at a loss for its crumbling state, please view Exhibit A. Too many years of neglecting talent for easy marketability is finally taking it’s toll. Quality lasts and quantity gets dumped out come spring cleaning, but unfortunately for Carina Round, she’s left with quite a pile to climb over.

This woman has what it takes to survive, and she can lead us into the post-apocalyptic world to come. If you enjoy talent, you will enjoy Carina Round. The best place to start is with her second album The Disconnection (2004). This is the album I was lucky enough to stumble upon. I feel it is a good representation of her true sound. Her first album, First Blood Mystery (2001), is also wonderful, but hardly a carbon copy (talented people tend to do that, make albums that sound different). It’s a bit more stripped down, and the content is not unlike witnessing a person with their chest sliced open and allowing everyone to stare. It’s a difficult introduction, but once you dive in it’s pure bliss. The Disconnection, while maintaining her radiantly intelligent and poetic writing style, exhibits more optimism and rock n’ roll. Make no mistake, Carina Round can rock out. Her recently released and no less enjoyable album Slow Motion Addict (2007) ups the squeal factor. I have recently begun to believe that she secretly listens to death metal, which is awesome. It is difficult, however, to get over the fact that Glen Ballard, of Alanis Morissette- Jagged Little Pill fame, co-produced this new endeavor. While I do not feel that he obviously altered Round’s style, I can’t shake the feeling that she would have left things a lot less smooth. At times the instruments over power her astounding voice, but you can’t fault a rock musician for desiring a wall of sound.

Carina Round is one of those musicians you hope for; a pure medium of sound harvested from the outstretches of the universe. You can miss her true grace because reviewers find ways to peg her down, but the bare-bones fact is that Carina Round is different. If you’re not too jaded, you could give your ears the treat of a lifetime. No, Round isn’t the only thing that should be parading through your aural lexicon, but she should definitely be a regular fix.