In the enjoyable Haunted, singer Poe exorcises the demons of her childhood. The Princeton graduate recounts her youth as one fraught with fear and emotional distance, yet her songs have an upbeat tempo that guarantees your toes will be tapping on the first hearing. Sentimental ballads like "5" and "1?2-Minute Hallway" float along next to spunky declarations of independence such as "I'm Not a Virgin Anymore." Yet in spite of the subject matter, Poe never becomes maudlin or bitter. Instead, her verse feels infused with the strength she's gained since having herself declared legally independent at the age of 16. In addition to providing sparkling vocals, the versatile Poe also composed, produced and engineered the album.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this album is how it intertwines with House of Leaves, the book written by Poe's brother Mark Z. Danielewski that was last year's literary sensation. Her blue-haired sibling says Poe's music is in no way a soundtrack for the book, but rather a parallel view of the same history. House of Leaves tells of a family whose house is five-sixteenths of an inch longer on the inside than on the outside. The house also contains a dark abyss into which people disappear for days. The eventual breakdown of the family reflects Danielewski's childhood, just as Poe's music does her own. A- -Krisa R. Benskin

Nate Borofsky

Never Enough Time (Finocchio)