Now on her fourth studio album, the soon-to-be released The Living and the Dead, Texan singer songwriter Jolie Holland has proved herself as one of America's great female artists. Her songwriting may fuse traditional American country, gospel, bluegrass and rockabilly, but her spine-tingling vocals and feisty lyrics give her music a much more contemporary edge, with live performances that command silence from anyone lucky enough to be present. Stand out tracks include Old Fashioned Morphine and Mad Tom of Bedlam from 2004's Escondida, The Littlest Birds from Catalpa and Crush In The Ghetto from 2006's Springtime Can Kill You. And you don't just have to take my word for it - Tom Waits is a big fan too!