"A veteran of the Brooklyn scene who has recorded under various names (Beat the Devil, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, just Shilpa Ray) and toured with Nick Cave, Ray delivers these songs in a voice that shapeshifts constantly, hitting every point along the spectrum between howl and coo, between boozy irony and acid rebuke. She does mordant accusations best of all, but there's always enough gravity in her tone to suggest dark implications to "O My Northern Soul" and even "On Broadway"".