Carla Bozulich wants to shake you up. She wants to offend you. She wants you to put down your newspaper, shut off your goddamned TV, and listen. If you do, you'll hear that she thinks you're beautiful. That you need to cut the word "Never" out of your vocabulary. And that the only word that can save us from the godforasken mess we've made of things - say it together, folks - is LOVE.

After a thorough second hearing, I can happily confirm that this woman is a powerhouse. So is her band, Evangelista, which includes a cellist, a guy with a laptop and a percussionist playing everything but the kitchen sink. (Oh, there are guitars, too.) Playing at Cake Shop last night, they created a raw, visceral yet intricate sound not all that far from what I heard a few blocks west at the HiFi Festival earlier in the evening. And, in case her band didn't wake you up, Bozulich repeatedly hauled her mic out into the audience, leaning against various unexpecting boys and girls to the brink of collapse. It was just like a revival meeting, without all that Jesus mumbo-jumbo.

Carla and a slightly-different lineup are off to Europe now, but will be back in mid-June, stopping off in NYC before touring the U.S. over the summer. Until then, you can sate yourself with the excellent Hello, Voyager which is getting raves all over the place.