Liz Larin "Wake Up, Start Dreaming"

Detroit's rock goddess has won an eye-popping 15 Detroit Music Awards through her long and varied career, and hearing her latest its easy to understand why. Simply, Liz rocks. Cliche, perhaps, but listen to her challenge the spirit of Janis Joplin on "Taste of Fate" -- growling hasn't sounded this sexy in decades. And speaking of sexy, check out the purring come-ons in "We Are Not Strangers Anymore." Liz's domination fantasies play out over a pulsing electro-bass and a pounding dance-floor beat.

But back on point, Larin knows how to get righteous and tear shit up! "Frequency" starts as a nice bar band rocker, with an excellent vocal melody. Two minutes in though, Larin and band rip into this beautiful bridge that Pete Townshend wishes he could write. Fucking awesome.

Larin can bring it down as well. "Alive (Conversation With An Angel)" is a fantastic chill-out track, a slowly simmering gravy, under down-to-earth philosophical lyrics. Her cover of Zeppelin's "Going To California" finds the gentle grooves that Page & Co.'s delivery was lacking.

Wake Up, Start Dreaming richly deserves the accolades heaped upon it. Articles currently circulating indicate that Larin is reaching out of the rock milieu into electronics and "Americana." With this album she's laid a solid foundation towards those endeavors.