The musical landscape is teeming with singer/songwriters, many of them quite capable, but only a handful have something truly distinctive to offer. Kate Voegele belongs in the latter category. Don't Look Away, Voegele's first full-length album (MySpace Records), is a revelation, as the 20-year-old writer/singer, belying her tender years, delivers songs of depth and insight with a powerfully seductive voice that maintains a fierce presence amid dynamic rock grooves and infectious pop hooks. Produced by the veteran Marshall Altman (Matt Nathanson, Mark Broussard), Don't Look Away is a bravura effort from an old soul with a youthful spirit; think of her album as a female parallel to John Mayer's Room for Squares--at once a zeitgeist-capturing landmark and the launchpad for a viable career.

The tracks range from the rootsy acoustic ballad "Wish You Were," with its mandolin and accordion filigree, and the sparse, piano-based "Kindly Unspoken" to the widescreen heartbreak anthem "Only Fooling Myself" and the ironically titled "It's Only Life," a soaring expression of female empowerment, which Voegele describes as "a motivational, uplifting song about dealing with situations rather than trying to hide from them." "One Way or Another" is an edgy rocker about romantic victimization, while the punchy "Chicago," she says, "is a metaphorical representation of any kind of escape, about just needing to get away. The line at the end of the chorus is, `I'll be on the seven o'clock to Chicago,' so it refers to a specific city, but it's universally applicable."

While the concerns Voegele touches on in her songs are contemporary, her sensibility is deeply rooted. Growing up surrounded by the music of seminal singer/songwriters like Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Eric Clapton, thanks to her musician father, Voegele absorbed everything she heard as if by osmosis, and began writing her own songs at 15. "It's my personal goal to continue the standard set by those before me," she says of her timeless approach. "No matter how a song develops, my main goal is to reach people, because there were so many musicians who spoke to me, and still do, to help me to deal with situations. It's so easy nowadays with all the technology for people to fake it. For me, it's just so important that the true musical talent and passion for the songs be there."

Poised, beautiful, armed with unforgettable songs and a voice to match, Kate Voegele is on the brink of something big!