This cumbersome and rather confusingly-titled debut from transplanted Philadelphia singer/songwriter Ginsberg (who apparently now calls Brooklyn her home) is an intimate collection of tales that delivers an eclectic combination of straightforward folk (?China Sea?) with occasionally forays into Southern spirituals (?Inchworm?) and whacked-out, Tom Waits-styled avant jazz/blues (?You, Your Brother, And Me?) often set to enigmatic and surreal, Patti Smith-inspired poetic lyrics (such as the title track, which appears in two parts)! Ginsberg wrote a novella (?No Name, Colorado?) at 19, so she has a gift for creating striking images with her poetry/lyrics, and she delivers them in a sing-speak bluesy style that suggests she?s bearing the weight of the universe on her delicate shoulders.

Her myriad styles and personas makes for a disconcerting listening experience which Ginsberg, herself, calls ?psychedelic deer piss.? It?s bluesy, folky, and spiritual (sometimes all at once) and can come across like Miriam Makeba or Pearl Bailey making their way through the Suzanne Vega songbook. Perhaps the strangest track of all is ?Zelda?s Song (As Sung By A Young Spanish Woman),? wherein Ginsberg adopts a faux Spanish accent that probably accurately reflects some of the local in her neighborhood, but struck me like an audition for Rita Moreno?s role in ?West Side Story.? So while I commend her attempts to be varied in presenting the many voices and styles of Pepi Ginsberg, I prefer the straightforward folky tunes like ?Maroon Coats? and ?Cool Green Castle.?

Ginsberg invites a band to sit in on the album?s rockingest (and best) songs, ?Kettle Song? and ?Needlenumb? and I?d like to hear her career and future songs develop in this direction. But as it is, we have a nice, strong beginning to what could be an exciting new voice in the folk/rock world. 7/10 -- Jeff Penczak (18 September, 2006)