In the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, a group of classically trained child prodigies put together a band called Bering Strait, toured the United States and moved to Nashville, where they put out two albums for Universal South. Natasha Borzilova was the band's lead singer.

Bering Strait scored a grammy nomination for country instrumental of the year in 2002 and Emmy Award-winner Nina Seavey made a documentary, The Ballad of Bering Strait, which drew a lot of attention to the band's music.

Then, as so many bands do, Bering Strait split up and Borzilova found herself turning into a solo act. Cheap Escape is her first solo record. It shows where she's been and where she is going. "Something I Never Knew About Love" was written with her Bering Strait bandmates and sounds like one of the songs they did together, even though the others did not play on it. "I'm Angry" and "Don't Stop" take us inside the heart of a young woman, while "How Do You Do That?" celebrates new love.

The fabulous thing about the CD, though, is Natasha Borzilova's voice, which is deep and husky, with a nuanced intensity that causes you to pull your car over to the side of the road and just listen.

[ visit the artist's website ]