Reviewed by Peter Bate

Wily alt-pop veteran Steve Taylor certainly knows a good deal when he sees one. Not content with signing Sixpence None The Richer to his Squint Entertainment empire and landing them a mainstream deal with Columbia. Taylor has hooked up Burlap To Cashmere with A&M (the former home of the artist's favourite Brit band Squeeze). A shrewd move, it seems, because on the evidence of their debut studio album Burlap, who have already toured with Jars Of Clay and Amy Grant and released a live LP, warrant as much attention as they can grab. Produced by Paul Simon, REM and Billy Joel collaborator Jay Healy, Anybody Out There?' exudes pop charm. Cousins Steven Delopoulos (vocals) and John Philippidis (guitar) lead the band on a merry dance through explosive ethnic folk ("Digee, Dime"), blue-eyed balladry ("Eileen's Song"), furious flamenco stomps ("Scenes") to worshipful gospel ("Mansions"). The pairs' Greek heritage seasons the whole of this accessible album which is flavoured by the singer's astute, heart-on-sleeve lyrics. One of the finds of the year, perhaps?

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