People Eating People ::: photo by Christian Coomer

Though we just discovered People Eating People a couple of weeks go when she opened for Nurses and Le Loup at Chop Suey, I can say without a doubt, she’s one of the most exciting musical discoveries of 2009.  Nouela Johnston, the bawdy, bold, and beautiful voice behind People Eating People sounds like she would be right at home singing at the swankiest smoke-filled speakeasy. And it’s not just Nouela’s voice that’s impressive–she’s an accomplished pianist and her heart-on-her sleeve lyrics are as evocative as they are catchy. These are tunes for foul moods and for singing along to mindlessly in your car at the top of your lungs.

Nouela reminds me of another clever piano ingenue I saw this week, Regina Spektor (with a pinch of Ben Folds). But Nouela is a Ballard version of Regina Spektor. Bawdier and bolder, without the coy intellectual quirkiness. She’s drinking Oly, not champagne. And Nouela’s ready to be heard. In the song “For Now” off of the self-titled debut record (released November 3rd) Nouela belts “one day you’re gonna love me,” and my best bet is that day is the first time you see or hear People Eating People.

MP3: People Eating People - All The Hospitals

For one lucky winner that day is next Thursday. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to this Thursday November 12th’s People Eating People CD release show at The Rendezvous. To be entered for consideration in drop a comment in this post with your real email address (which remains hidden), so I can get your information if you win. I’ll randomly choose a winner at 5pm PST on Monday.