Baltimore-based singer, songwriter and poet Acacia Sears has released her debut album, Dialtones, with 12-self-crafted songs and a three-stave poem, all written between 2001 and 2006. She sings, recites and plays the guitar -- this is real and pure, self-made artistry recorded and produced by John Walke.

Acacia has a beautiful and alluring voice, and her melancholic and sometimes even hypnotic songs put a kind of spell on the listener. You forget about daily troubles and you start looking dreamingly into the void. She sings songs of love and hope, self-doubt and broken hearts, happy moments and sad farewells. Her guitar playing is rhythmic, melodic and matches perfectly to the pensive atmosphere of her songs.

Starting off with the desperate mood of "Chrysalis," a song about self-abandonment and endless love, Acacia passes to question herself on "Enough" and finally merges into the joy of love and affection on "Naked." But she also finds melancholy in "Times Like These," when heroes have gone, people don't say the truth anymore and you can get nothing for free, not even democracy.

The final poem certainly features the strongest words on the CD and they make sense to me. If you appreciate poetry and romance you will love this album and in addition you will get some critical thoughts brilliantly brought forward in strong prose poetry.