Coming out of Australia, Leanne Kingwell has already made a substantial name for herself in the area of rock music in the live music capital of the land down under, Melbourne. Choosing the independent route, Kingwell finances her albums through her job as a graphic artist, although she certainly has a sound that could lure major labeling financing into the equation.

Well, that's actually only half true. Part of Choking On Halos, her second album, wouldn't be out of place on your local alternative rock station. The other half, well, it's more likely to appeal to fans of abstract ideas and the sort of creativity that's hard to put into a genre.

"This High" starts the album off and gets us thinking she's leaping into prog-rock territory before abruptly shifting into a mild hard rock tune with seductive vocals and softer ebbs of spacey melody. "Saviour" follows and is a more pop-rock focused offering, before moving into the radio friendly "Sunshine" where her vocals shift to sweet after the rap influenced beginning.

As we approach the middle of the disc, Kingwell spreads her wings with the title track that shows even more diversity in a moody rocker where atmosphere is key and the keys play a huge part in laying the atmosphere. From there, her voice aches in the subdued "Your Cleopatra" and then roars in the mysterious turned anthemic "Diamond."

Though she does slow down the intensity some with "Silence" near the end, noisy, alt-rock influenced tracks like "Letters I'll Never Send" and "Slingshot" ensure that the songstress ends with an energy similar to how the album started.

There's a wealth of talent in this young woman, and it's likely that only a fraction of that is unearthed here. Let's hope that Kingwell is working on a new album by now, because this one is great and I can only imagine what the future will bring.

Rating: B+

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