When writing about music and concerts for the newspaper, columnists tend to receive a fair share of demo albums to review as well as invitations to shows. Every now and then a demo gets sent to you from someone that you instantly get a gut feeling about. That was how I felt when I popped the CD into the player and first heard Mary Beth Abella and her album, "What Happened to the Girls?" I was instantly hooked. For me the mark of a good album is its impact on me the first time I listen to it. Like many others, I like a song if it feels familiar to me or when it makes a connection to my thoughts or when it has a really great melody that gets stuck in my head.

Normally, for me to achieve this level of confort with a new album, I have to play it through about three times to get to that level of interest. From the moment I started listening to Mary Beth Abella's album, "What Happened to the Girls?", I was immediately captivated and invested in the songs. The first song, "Just Like Me," is passionate and strong--full of rockin' intensity and power. The second track, "Til We Die," takes us to a different level and sounds more like mellow rock, but still every bit as interesting as her hard rocking sound.

Her style is reminiscent of PJ Harvey, Juliana Hatfield, Sheryl Crowe and Liz Phair, and her songwriting puts her in line to be one of the next big singer/songwriters. Abella's writing is expressive, honest, intelligent and full bodied. It is, at times, dark and angry, but at other times sunny as a spring day.

Listen to "When Girls Ruled" and you will be convinced of her songwriting greatness. It is rare when you can find the level of complexity in songwriting that Abella possesses in a debut effort. Her ability to deliver this level of confidence and power helps to keep the listener on their toes. Her voice is sweet without being cloying and childish.

Abella counts the Beatles as one of her favorite bands, and their influence can be seen in her chord changes and melodic harmony. This debut album stands tall compared to what is currently being mass produced. With the singer songwriter fever running wild throughout the music biz right now, it is just a matter of time before talent scouts from major labels are sent to Denver--stampeding to check out Abella.

This album is her first full-length release, but Abella has been performing for more than 10 years in the Denver area. Abella considers herself an activist with a strong social conscience and has dedicated herself to the empowerment of others. To prove that point, Abella is chairperson and founder of the Colorado Women in Music (CWIM), which is devoted to helping local womens music in the community reach a national consciousness....

This album is by far one of my picks for best release of 2002. To purchase the album, go to Twist and Shout or Wax Trax [or] log onto www.marybethabella.com....