Label: True North Records

You could say that singer-songwriter Crystal Shawanda’s voice is her own section in a band — part brass, part percussion, and thoroughly electric — and you’d be correct. Need proof? Listen to her newest release, Midnight Blues. Enough said. It’s a fiery, raspy, siren that challenges the band to keep up.

Luckily, they do, which makes for one of the most exciting blues releases so far this year.

Produced by Dewayne Strobel, Ms. Shawada’s eighth studio album is a mix of original songs and covers (including a soaring performance of Celine Dion’s “That’s Just The Woman In Me”) that just begin to display the power and versatility of her vocal instrument. If the point of this album was to let her shine, then, mission accomplished. Apparently, there’s nothing she can’t sing (and convey).