Portland’s soulful pop songstress Katie Matzell grew up listening to a trove of oldies records kept in her basement, a stashed library of her father’s from his days as a DJ. She cites Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin as two major influences, which comes at no surprise after listening to her smoothly rich self-titled debut EP. Matzell’s voice, both effortless and simple, floats above a sea of washy keys and pocket grooves, calling comparisons to not only her influences of the past, but to her contemporaries- Norah Jones and Emily King immediately come to mind. The six track EP covers plenty of musical ground, ranging from the heady neo-soul of “Brick Sidewalks”, to the dubious funk of “On the Line”, to the gospel-blues of “Don’t They Say”. Stream Katie’s EP below. –Charley Ruddell
