It’s no surprise that singer-songwriter Charlotte Martin got her start singing opera. Her greatest musical instrument is her voice, and all her songs highlight it along with her brilliant songwriting. Listen to her baring her soul on her many albums, and you’ll hear an artist that fits in anyone’s record collection between Kate Bush and Aimee Mann.

She was born in 1977 in Charleston, IL, and received an early musical education. She would sing songs with her mother in the car, and her father was a music professor at Eastern Illinois University, which she would later attend. Her focus was opera, but the experiences she had in college-which included the suicides of two friends-fed her muse and prompted her to deal with her emotional turmoil through music. She recorded numerous songs and EPs before her first full-length came out. By then, she had become a critical darling, attracting notice for her fine voice and often painfully honest, heart-rending writing. Her sophomore album, On Your Shore, gave her a foothold in developing a major fan base. But the album, which was recorded with RCA, also marked a point of stress for Martin, who was finding it difficult to work according to the expectations of a major label.

She eventually opted to leave RCA for the less suffocating embrace of the Test-Drive label. In time, she would marry Ken Andrews, her co-producer since 2002, and join with him in founding a new label called Dinosaur Fight. In 2006, she released Stromata, the most recent album to show off her original songwriting and singing talents. Rather than relying on the sparse sounds of just her voice and a piano in a room, she combined synthesizers and digital percussion to craft a new sound for herself. The experience of the past few years-including the stressful life on the road, touring, and the emotional changes that come with growing up-all went into Stromata. Tracks like "Keep Me In your Pocket" and "Redeemed" were reminiscent of Tori Amos’ best work, with odd vocal collages that sounded unlike her previous work.

In 2007, Martin released a covers album entitled Reproductions. Her unique takes on everything from the Cure ("Just Like Heaven") to New Order ("Bizarre Love Triangle") to Massive Attack ("Angel") ensured that alt-rock music fans would pleased by everything on that release.