Eszter Balint - Flicker (1998)

Although Eszter Balint has only recently released her debut album "Flicker" she already has imitators; no doubt inspired by her accclaimed acting work in Jim Jarmusch's classic film "Stranger Than Paradise" and other movies, a Japanese band recently named themselves Ester Ballint (sic). But althought they might borrown her name, they would find it much more difficult to mimic the distinctive sound of Eszter's music. She possesses an unerring gift for melody and a haunting voice as well as a poetic, darkly comic lyrical sensibility that is unmistakably her own. A singer-songwriter whose inspirations range from American folk music to the more urban textures and avant-garde influenced sounds of her homeland, lower Manhattan, Eszter is a mature and confident new artist who is already receiving critical acclaim from both sides of the Atlantic.