It's all too rare these days for an artist to not only know what makes certain places special, but to grasp and understand why travelling and leaving behind the comfort of the familiar to create your own narrative is not only influentially vital, but is essential to great art.

In the fine tradition of being inspired by travel, and the highly romanticised, almost mythological pull of The Road, the country-bred Amaya Laucirica has managed quite beautifully to create original ideas from a genre that is usually weighted down with tired cliche.

Amaya's debut album Sugar Lights is the product of a woman with her roots placed firmly in the countryside of her beginnings, but also travelling forward and experimenting with a changing landscape.

The title track documents the external changes around her "all the places I used to drink in while they're not there any more/all the shops I used to go to got a for sale sign in the door" to her own internal shift "I don't want to wait/I don't want to die around here".

Having started in a small town in South Australia, then travelling to Sydney, then to Melbourne to widen her musical horizons, Amaya meshes countrified folk with a pop gleam, making it seem effortless and natural.

It is a credit to Dave McLuney and Mick Harvey (of Bad Seeds fame) who both helped to produce and arrange the album, that Amaya's voice serves as the focus of the project, but at the same time, sits perfectly alongside the more than capable band.

Indeed, a highlight of the album is 'Slow Down', as performed on the ABC, when Amaya's raw and emotive voice soars through and above the plaintive guitars, showcasing the multi-layered talent of this well-travelled songbird.

Within an incredibly short time, Amaya has caught the attention of a fickle industry, signing a record deal with Infidelity and then a world-wide publishing deal with Mushroom Publishing. Most importantly, her live performances are captivating, which is the true mark of a talented musician. With such an assured debut, it will be worthwhile to see where her continuous journeying will, if ever, end.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/amayalaucirica