Everyone Is Someone Compass Records * * *

Dala are Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther, two Canadian singer-songwriters who took their own country by storm with this debut album. Bedecked with award nominations and darlings of National Public Radio, Dala ply a respectable trade in soft-focus, radio-friendly, spit- polished songs with a high hummability index. What sets them apart is their strong lyrical seam, shot through with a reality check that's mostly absent from such Top 40-bound material. From the laser sharp Lonely, with its killer opening line ("She wears her body like a lifetime achievement"), Dala seem bound for a loftier place where substance stands equal to style. Their vocals are still largely indistinguishable from swathes who came before them (from Wendy Matthews to Sarah McLachlan) but Everyone Is Someonewhispers of a difference that may yet crystallise into something special. See compassrecords. com SIOBHÁN LONG

Download tracks: Levi Blues, Lonely Girl