What would happen if there was a young woman who had a degree in opera, had years of vigorous vocal training under her belt, and had spent the past several years experimenting with songwriting? Imagine that this young woman grew up reading Lewis Carroll, listening to Edith Piaf, Debussy, and learning from family members including a travelling guitar-playing Evangelist, a National Accordion Champion, and a classical organist.

What if she started writing trip-hop influenced songs and formed a band in New York City just in time to pick up where Jeff Buckley left off? Well, something akin to shoving a fork into an electrical socket charged with happy if music means much to you.

Shara Worden is real. Years ago, she fronted the avant/experimental NYC band, AwRY. Worden and AwRY, to my knowledge, were not widely known outside of the cafes and homey New York venues they frequented.

Sometime between the final Autumn leaves floating down to city sidewalks in 2005 and the first thunderous signs of rain in Spring 2006, AwRY was laid to rest and My Brightest Diamond emerged in its place.

A Thousand Shark's Teeth is a comprehensive blend of Worden's enormous pool of influences complementing her own distinct talent. The album starts out with the airy finger-picked electric line (say hello to Jeff Buckley's ghost) of "Inside a Boy." From there, a whirlwind of dynamic ebb and flow makes it difficult for those of us paying attention to keep our footing—it's not a matter of being comfortably numb, but rather, blissfully blown away.

Worden's knack for operatic sustain paired with deftly attuned bass and drums following suit in trip-hop fashion and intense orchestral arrangements brings the multitude of musical worlds that are so much a part of Worden's past together with startling ease. Where some music provides distance and perspective of its subject, My Brightest Diamond takes us deep inside the heart of where all music comes from. Rejecting the limitations implicit in classification, My Brightest Diamond is all-inclusive.

If AwRY was ever amiss, having more tricks than any pony could gracefully pull off at once (albeit, very neat tricks), My Brightest Diamond is one hard-trained, majestic globetrotting steed built for shock and awe.

Worden sings, "We are clouds, we are whispers, we are fawns and shape shifters—our edges can never be found out," and thus, My Brightest Diamond shines.