Sound Off! An Underage Battle: Hooves and Beak

Hooves and Beak harpist Whitney Flinn automatically draws comparisons to indie star Joanna Newsom. Both musicians play harp and sing in American folk styles, but there may be more differences between the two than similarities. Newsom’s vocals are light and jagged, and are, for some, a bit childish sounding and cutesy - great for a few songs but quick to grate. Flinn’s singing style is a bit more traditional, like sweeping brush strokes; distant sounding, strong but subdued. She sounds as though she would be just as at home with a banjo or upright piano as with her harp.

Though she's originally from Lawrence, Kansas, Flinn seems to draw the dreary Northwest woods from her instrument, especially on "Doorman's Song." Hear the song on her myspace page. She’s playing the harp, certainly, but unlike Newsom’s polished, old world approach, Flinn uses the harp as an accessory to the rainy day atmosphere and the story she tells. There's no glory and heavenly plucking here. As talented a musician as Flinn is, the truly touching aspect of this folk song is her story. “Doorman’s Song” is, in a word, wrenching. Dealing with drinking and lost love, hopelessness and disappointment -- the tune is seriously tearing. Punctuated by Flinn’s languishing voice and instrumentation, it’s also quite beautiful.

She battles it out with three other underage performing artists this Saturday at EMP’s Sound Off! Battle of the Underage Bands.