To the average A&R team at any one of the four (or is it three now?) major labels still attempting to force-feed here-today-gone-tomorrow "pop sensations," the story of Caroline Lufkin would seem better than any fictitious bio invented in a marketing meeting. One of three siblings born and raised in Okinawa, Japan, Caroline's older sister Olivia shot to super-stardom in their home country as a J-pop princess, with their younger brother Jeffrey playing guitar in her band. At age 18, Caroline moved to Boston to study music composition at Berklee School of Music. After graduating she moved to Tokyo where she briefly made her living recording demo vocal tracks for a variety of would-be "pop sensations"; Eventually she herself was offered a lucrative major label contract. She declined, moved to Los Angeles, and contacted Temporary Residence Ltd. after hearing Explosions In The Sky and MONO in Japan. We signed her immediately, and ever since have been biting our nails in eager anticipation of the release of her debut album. Murmurs is a thing of blessed beauty that defies easy description. The above biography was primarily a clever attempt to avoid the unenviable task of attaching words to the supernatural brilliance of Caroline's songs. From the weeping trumpet and innocent lyrical sentiments of opener "Bicycle" to the cinematic tide of "Winter" - whose orchestral weight and lyrical hopefulness threaten to crush the listener from the inside-out - Murmurs is a truly masterful album. No samples were used: dozens of live acoustic instruments - pianos, harps, bells, guitars, strings and hand drums - are shaped around Caroline's crystalline voice and threaded together by warm bass and dense beats. With a transcendence that could give you chills on a blistering summer day just as easily as it could warm your body on a bitterly cold night, it's no wonder Caroline has developed a reputation as queen of the "snow jams."