Alice Marie's full-length debut is a strong record. Her voice and piano gel with the music, and her fluid musicality is apparent. "Could It Be" is a haunting song that deserves to be compared to Tori Amos. "Bring The Guitar" is a mid-tempo song that shows off the singer's lovely voice. "I Was Seven" tells of a harrowing childhood. 'I never had a childhood, I had secrets' intones the singer as the tale of abuse and sorrow begins. The child-like simplicity of the tune further illustrates the child's helplessness. Staccato bursts of strings underscores the drama. Angels Near is a powerful debut. -- Anna Maria Stjärnell Luna Kafe "Angels Near" is like a poker game with Stevie Nicks portrayed as the dealer, Tori Amos laying down a royal flush and Evanescence's Amy Lee folding. It's a dark collection of moody and intimate songs that flirt with tragic and haunting melodies. Alice Marie uses stretched out vocals to pierce through the lyrics, adding an eerie tone to the mood of the release. The title song, "Angels Near," a song about personal bouts of pain and fear, includes an unexpected change of emotion with a "carnival" flashback of sorts complete with roller coasters and carnival music. It's a very modern, dark outlook on the singer-songwriter's life displayed collectively in ten tracks of deep, poet lyrics. "Angels Near" is packed full of Alice Marie's raw, edgy talent. It's one beautiful song after another complete with a stunning voice sure to please any music fan. --Heather Corcoran GO GIRLS MUSIC "Soothing and unsettling. How'd you manage that?" --Brian Tate SHRINE FOR THE BLACK MADONNA I'm not sure why I was expecting soft McLachlan-ish pop from Alice Marie (I think it's because of the song of hers that appears on Undiscovered Gems) but I was wrong. Alice Marie gets right out of the gate rocking with the first track, "It's Amazing." "Angels Near" almost has an 80s new wave sound. I especially like the carnival sound in the middle. "I Was Seven" is downright scary as she pleads with her imaginary friend taken from books to save her from...well...just listen. At times this song reminds me of early Tori Amos. This is a good solid recording from an artist who is not mainstream sounding and has a lot to say. --Amy Lotsberg COLLECTED SOUNDS For her second CD called Angels Near, Alice Marie was ready for her close-up. From the intimate cover portrait to the soul-excavating songs, she doesn't shy away from truth, desire, or her quest for spiritual intimacy. In the title track, you can hear the rumble of a roller coaster and screams to go with it; listening to the CD as a whole requires some seatbelt-fastening as Alice, an artist featured on Virt Records' Undiscovered Gems, takes you through her lows -- molestation, depression, and her response to 9/11 -- and highs -- finding love, appreciating the life she almost took, and getting anything but metaphysical in the seductive "Bring the Guitar." Alice's songs have aired on Sirius Satellite Radio and Plum TV, plus numerous podcasts and Internet radio stations, and she has appeared at The Bitter End, Arlene's Grocery, Borders Books, The Living Room, 17, Maxwell's in Hoboken, and Balboa Park in San Diego. Three of her songs from Angels Near have been chosen for Mamapalooza Vol. 2 and a CD to benefit RAINN called Mindful Lullabies. Please visit Alice at www.TeaWithAliceMarie.com and www.YouTube.com/TeaWithAliceMarie