“The Riverbank” from Monica Heldal’s album The One In The Sun instantly brought back flashes of Blind Faith, and while she centers on acoustic guitar, her band devastates the floorboards with electronic sonic wonder. And what else should one expect from a woman who cites Rory Gallagher (venturing her own take on his varied and complex guitar tunings) along with Nick Drake, and expresses a deep passion for the acoustic side of Led Zeppelin, though I haven’t even mentioned that she opened for Pink Floyd in 2006.Monica accomplishes her sound by blending a bit of folk and rock, as did so many during the later years of the hazed 60’s, pushing boundaries and projecting a presence filled with confident emotional sensitivity to her work that few will equal … with this aspect being channeled through both on her laidback numbers as well as her emancipated yet controlled rockers. Ahh, and then there’s her voice, with only a hint of her Scandinavian roots, one that’s totally original, one that dances with clarity from vigorous to raw, and then weaves in an atmosphere of restrained delicacy, yet loses none of her strength in so doing. One could easily say that Monica takes pretty songs with pretty lyrics and then sets them on fire.Review by Jenell Kesler