Joan As... Careers Advisor, Flight Attendant, Gym Instructor, Lollipop Lady

See this woman up here? This is your ears' new best friend. Along with Bat For Lashes, Camille and Regina Spektor, New York-based Joan As Police Woman and her band is one of a new breed of singer-songwriters making music that tears a new hole in your head just so you can learn how to deal with it. It's a highly emotive, gargantuan cabaret sound: filled with the worries, loves and scattered observations that are making women powerful again. These witchy folks have our lives at their fingertips.

Friday, Joan was playing the last night of her monthly residency at The Spitz near Liverpool Street. As usual it was hot, sticky and vile, and Joan cracked wry jokes about the heat with the easy familiarity that comes from playing a spot often enough. You couldn't see her, or the band as they sat behind keys, bass and drums. What was odd was you didn't need to. There was so much coming from what she was playing (from new record 'Real Life' released last week) that you could just sit and stare at your shoes, or the inside of your eyelids.

Now, we're not ones for doing that hippie-dippie closing your eyes crap at gigs. It makes us want to punch something. But this - crikey. That voice, that music - it makes you understand why the 60s happened, how people became so bewildered by the power of music that they had to dose themselves up to the eyeballs just to deal with it. Either way, you need to get this woman into your life now: check out the official site, befriend her on MySpazz, whatever you do: do it. It's outstanding.

'Real Life' is out now on Reveal