Pitchfork

The kalimba, colloquially known as the thumb piano, is an instrument of sublime simplicity: The water-drop reverberations of plucked reeds or metal tines are amplified by a resonator box fashioned from humble wood or a hollow gourd. Classically trained pianist Laura Barrett plies her trade in miniature on "Deception Island Optimists Club", a kalimba-carried ballad where she makes the most of the instrument's rich, pure tones, and stands to do for the indie world's perception of the thumb piano what Joanna Newsom did for the harp (although her singing is more akin to Cat Power's retiring soul than Newsom's brassy world-jazz). If this were written for piano or guitar, it would simply be a forlorn dove of a song with a trembling, flighty melody-- nice if unexceptional. But the sprightly clockwork of Barrett's kalimba phrases, lurching forward and falling back with the organic melody, creates a more rarified and captivating atmosphere.