It seems impossible that an artist can arrive as fully formed as Cat Thomson, and yet here she is. When the sing-songwriter arrived in Vancouver 4 years ago, she had little more than a few low key solo gigs behind her. But the darkly powerful voice, dramatic range, and refined lyric and musical sensibilities were already there, marinated in life experience. There was however, 20 years of classical piano, choirs, and voice lessons, not to mention the early love of songwriting that started from age 9. Thomson also majored in opera at Louisiana State University (on a full scholarship, no less). And all this prior to ever stepping into a recording studio. "Those years shaped me into the artist I am now. I do not regret a single moment of it". And it's easy to see why. On her first album, "Puzzle", you understand that her songwriting comes from somewhere mysterious. She demonstrates an intuitive feel for the alchemy of sophisticated adult contemporary music. The voice soars without spilling over into histrionics, and her grasp of metre, phrasing, and arrangements are all there in every song. "Puzzle" received high praise, earning her "EP of the year" for 2014 by the Canadian Music Blog. Since then, Cat has toured across Canada, with small intimate concerts from Victoria BC to Cimbria PEI, to delighted audiences. She has been hard at work on new music as a fully independent artist, combining her love for music and business. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist...you know the saying, if you want something done right, do it yourself. I take that advice, but I've also added some incredibly talented people into the mix who are far better at what they do than I am. I've always worked with people who have shared the same vision, and this time around was no exception". That includes Vancouver industry gurus Shawn Cole, Brock McFarlane, Louise Burns, Royce Whittaker, Anthony Morelli, Jeff Zipp, and Spencer Bleasdale, just to name a few. "My music is raw. It is unforgiving, and it is truthful." The result is an album as deep and rich as the voice behind it; a plush work of adult contemporary pop that could sit somewhere between Fiona Apple, Annie Lennox, and Sara Barielles without being diminished by any of them.