"Lewis Ave." by Tella, is cotton and corduroy nailed to splintered wood. The songs are melodically complex but sonically simple. Clean guitars feign naivete while the husky voice suggests something wise or slightly sinister. Tella is Brandi Parker, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. "Lewis Ave." is an introspective story without pretense. The journey begins with a declaration, "tradition is broken by me"—the opening line of the album's first track "Broken (in)." The disc continues with the sardonic break-up song "Out of Reach," through to the jazz-inspired, flirtatious "Undo," coming full circle to the last track where Parker pulls off the alt-country inspired "The Only Country Song (I'll Ever Write)." Parker wrote all of these songs while living in an apartment (2001-2003) on Lewis Avenue in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and brought them with her when she moved to New York City in 2003. These were born as demos, polished live at shows, and then taken into the studio in 2005 (except for track 6, recorded in Parker's home studio). Recorded in just 3 days out of financial necessity, the songs became bare-boned structures supporting the periodic punctuation of an overdubbed guitar or vocal track. Parker eschewed her tendency of producing heavily orchestrated demos, and instead revealed a straightforward, pure and honest record. Parker has been gigging steadily as Tella since 2004. The band's lineup is not constant, but the structure is: a trio with Parker performing guitar and vocal duties supported by drums and bass. And make no mistake, Tella is no sappy singer-songwriter. Her shows, simultaneously energetic and heavy, leave you wondering what she'll put together next. She is currently writing and recording material for a full-length album. Featured on this recording are Benjamin Smith on drums and Christopher Perry on bass. Press: B**ch Magazine recently said this about "Lewis Ave.": "'Lewis Ave.' offers up short, sweet, and memorable lo-fi lullabies about love and city life, rocking out, and the ones that got away.... The entire short CD leaps from genre to genre with a quiet confidence, segueing from folk and hum-rock to guitar solos that do not suck at all...."