I am trying to figure out the one 3 star review. What were they listening to? This is a great CD. One way you can tell is look at the other reviews to see what songs they mention as their favorites. 9 of the 11 tracks are mentioned. In a world with 2 good tracks per CD, this one has at least nine. And the two not mentioned are really good. Simply the best CD I have heard in at least 10 years. Her first CD was very good, and she has been releasing some new tracks on her My Space page, and they sound great. She has songs on there that she is leaving off her new CD, and they are better than most anything else I am hearing right now. She has a chance to be around for a long time, what with her mix of piano songs, guitar based pop songs, and great singing. She is a keeper, and this is a great example why.

A mix of the expected and stunning originality, "Fires" is a superb effort from emerging British singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot. With a voice reminiscent of Anna Nalick and a poppier Sheryl Crowe, she doesn't sound too out of the ordinary. But her songs are magic, she brings a new level of ease to the listening experience. Not challenging, the whole album is a joy to listen to as the songs are all equally magic.

"Fires" mixes radio-friendly hits with emotional piano ballads. The style is far from confronting, yet that is the essence of this album. Nerina succeeds in impressing her listener by not being too showy. The album is amazing because of it's simplicity. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Nerina doesn't feel the need of bearing everything or trying to limit the listener's pleasure by writing songs in morse code (a la Tori Amos lyrics).

The simplicity is astounding, but Nerina still managed to confuse me. I was confused by just how poignant this album. After repeated listens, it unravels and reveals itself as a magical piece of art.

She's not groundbreaking, but who needs to be in this day and age? Artists are always deliberately pushing soundscapes to new startospheres, creating primal scream hypnosis (Diamanda Galas), trying to imitate sex (Janet Jackson) and bombarding us with faux-rap over the internet (Sandie Thom, Lily Allen). It's just nice to hear the simple things done exquisitely.

"Fires" is a refreshing listen, sure I've heard the same formula before. But, this time, it's done with poignancy and honesty. I wouldn't be surprised if her next album becomes a Grey's Anatomy success. That would be a real detriment to her talent though. She is too exceptional for such a run of the mill show.

Nerina is an awesome artist. This CD is definitely worth picking up. She needs airplay in the U.S. and our help to do it. I highly recommend this CD be in everyone's collection.

If you haven't heard of Nerina Pallot, I don't know where you have been. She has had so much media hype and 5 star reviews in all the right places. And for once, the hype can be believed! "Fires" is incredibly good, incredibly strong and you won't be able to get enough of this album. Nerina plays the guitar and piano on the album as well as writing all the songs. She has a crystal clear voice with a great range, which adds oodles of flavor to the album. Her song "Everybody's Gone To War" is simply outstanding. I think we will be hearing much more from Nerina in the future and I thing this is an album well worth owning.

Only heard of Nina a couple of weeks ago when EGTW was mentioned as being #1 in a writer's playlist in a USA Today article.

Ordered this album from Amazon and have been playing it constantly ever since. Damascus is my favorite song. Really shows off her beautiful voice and great tune.

I've seen her called "the new Carol King" and that drew me to her because I'm a long time Carol fan, but I would say she is more similar to Sarah MacLachlan and Tori Amos.

EDIT:
After listening to this for the past few weeks, I've become more and more enamored of Nerina's beautiful music.

Damascus I listen to over and over. When I finally decide to go to the next track I get stuck on repeating Idaho for awhile. I think these two songs could really win Nerina some US fans and would promote those for US radio listening.

For deeper cuts I would add
Learning to Breathe
Geek Love
All Good People
and Halfway Home

I would avoid pushing Everybody's Gone To War. Why get in the middle of political squabbles as a newly introducted artist. Let fans discover it on their own.

Songs like Mr. King grow on me the more I hear them. Not a weak song on the entire album. One of the strongest albums I've heard in awhile. Nerina's voice is like another instrument and reminds me of Dave Matthews in that regard. I find myself listening to their voices for months before I ever get curious enough to see what the actual words to the song are. Then I find a deeper appreciation of the interesting, emotional lyrics.

If you're a serious modern rock/alternative music fan. Don't miss listening to this album at least once!