Crystal Chen: You Can Call Me CC (digital outlets)

Emerging artists often like to make a big statement with their debut album, right from the opening track. It makes sense.

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's Crystal Chen however is confident enough to go the other way: the opener here Bloom (a gently tinkling instrumental on harp with flute for the first two of its five and half minutes) and follow-up, the sensual, smoky and lightly swinging lounge ballad I Only Miss You When I'm Bored, slide in slow and surreptitiously.

These announce a talent who deploys flute, harp, horns and a small group on subtle songs which live somewhere between neo-soul, pop, cool jazz and samba-kissed r'n'b.

Chen here doesn't try to impress or make too much of a statement beyond letting the music, her whispery vocal style, the smooth arrangements and self-contained originals work their way beneath the skin.

At one level this could be an album of ambient cocktail party music to play in the background but -- like Norah Jones' debut Come Away With Me which suffered a little from that -- there is a lot here that rewards closer attention.

Like the understated Brazilian style of the clever Stop with electric piano, the swooning opening of the languid Can't Help It, the understatement of Let's Kiss Not Fight and the seven minute-plus This Evening's Affair.

It's not all polished smooth -- the opening of Top Down arrives like a warm hailstorm before the groove kicks in, The Forecast rocks up a little – but Chen aims for a mature place where there are satin sheets, red wine by candlelight and a distant saxophone plays.

Few local artists try to live there.

Crystal Chen is a very different kind of local artist and her peers are people like Laufey, the great singers like Julie London in intimate ballad mode, La Coco (in her quieter moments) and Phoebe Rings.

Turn down the lights, but pay attention.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here