Gin Wigmore

Relatively unknown in the U.S., the New Zealander, Gin Wigmore is no stranger to fame in her homeland. The Auckland singer songwriter has a pair of multi-platinum albums in New Zealand, and in 2004 her song "Hallelujah" made her the only unsigned artist to ever win the Grand Prize in the US-based International Songwriting Competition. Now with the US release of her album, Gravel & Wine, on April 2nd via Island Records (released in New Zealand in 2011), she stands poised to rock airwaves and Warped Tour concertgoers alike this year. The lead single from the album is "Black Sheep". It has already appeared in TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Teeny Wolf and Revenge. The song is raw, dark and soulful, and when she drops the line "Everybody's doing it, so why the hell should I?", you know you're hearing the dirty mantra of the artist, a principle that guides her through Gravel & Wine from beginning to end, and one that should continue to propel her forward.

At it's heart, Gravel & Wine comes across as an album with a vibe of someone feeling very wronged by love, and yet Wigmore comes across as one that nobody would want to wrong. It's almost a cautionary tale - when she spits out the line "Don't go telling me she's just a friend" on "Happy Ever After," you almost feel sorry for the target of the track. Sure, she may have been wronged, but you get feeling that she knows more than a little bit about revenge.

Gin Wigmore may not be the biggest name on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour as it kicks of, but one can't help but wonder if, by tour's end, she has stolen the spotlight, when the New Zealand girl with a big voice and heady dose of American influence becomes to one thing that nobody can stop talking about.

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