Girl Crush: Lenka

Another sassy songbird from down 'unda, Lenka looks like Kate Beckinsdale, talks like Nicole Kidman and writes catchy pop hooks that get stuck in your head like nobody's business. I had the pleasure of watching Lenka perform live at the Varsity Theater last night and she put on quite a show. I knew I liked her music because I bought her self titled debut album on iTunes a few months ago, and her songs have been all over the fall TV season from 90210 to Ugly Betty to Grey's Anatomy. In fact, the producers of Grey's seem to think she created the soundtrack to their show, which kind of taints her music for me - its hard not to hear Meredith's dramatic and annoying "wisdom voice overs" or picture her and Christina lamely "dancing it out" when I hear a couple of Lenka's tracks.

But, Lenka's amazing performance got me past feeling like I was working at Seattle Grace. Its not often that I go to a concert and truly love every song, but at this show I did. Jeff also really loved her songs but might have been too busy drooling, this girl is seriously the hotness. This is her debut album so she really only has about 12 songs, but they are all melodic, catchy and fun. She did a cover of "Gravity Rides Everything" by Modest Mouse that was moody and gorgeous - one of my favorite songs of the night.

I also loved the whimsical visuals and stage design - all turquoise and orange, with white owls, and birds everywhere. Jeff mentioned the show was kind of like being in a Jennifer Davis painting and I couldn't agree more. Even Lenka's outfit matched the set and she said in her cute lil' Aussie accent "I left all my dresses at the hotel on our last stop so luckily I went to Urban Outfitters to find a new outfit.." I loved the design so much I even bought a t-shirt, something I hardly ever do at a show. Here are a few photos from the night.

Stand out tracks from her debut album "Lenka" include: "Live Like You're Dying," "Skipalong," "Don't Let Me Fall," "Anything I'm Not" and "We Will Not Grow Old." The songs you've probably heard on TV are "The Show," and "Trouble Is A Friend." Just download the whole album - it's only $7.99 and worth every penny. The single "Gravity Rides Everything" is also available as a single on iTunes.

Lenka's Bio: There once was a little girl. She was born in the bush. Her parents called her Lenka. Her first friends were trees. Her father played the trumpet, she sang with him when she was 6. She grew up a bit. They moved to the big city (Sydney). She went to school. She danced a bit. She acted a bit. She went to art college. She started to sing a bit more… She joined a band called Decoder Ring. They created an album called Somersault, which was the soundtrack to a feature film called Somersault. It won lots of awards. She got called things like an “ethereal songstress” a “pocket rocket” and “breathy, strangely haunting.” (Rolling Stone ’04) She flew on a plane and landed in Los Angeles. She hid away in studios and emerged with new songs. One of her songs “Follow” provided the soundtrack to Courtney Cox masturbating in Dirt. She found this nice. She wants to do more – song writing, singing, performing, collaborating. Making people feel some pleasure…