source: Lauren Aquilina's Facebook page

I very recently discovered 18-year-old unsigned singer-songwriter Lauren Aquilina, who self-released her EP "Fools" last autumn and releases her newest EP "Sinners" today. Aquilina hails from England and has that dreamy, hollow sound typical of so many British singer-songwriters, except something about her music made me stop what I was doing and look up the song title and artist's name. I was even more impressed when I discovered that she was all of 17 years old when she released it.

Lauren Aquilina cites Bon Iver, Coldplay and Blondie as influences, and has been writing songs since the age of 5. Honestly, she reminds me a bit of English musician Birdy, but with more depth and feeling -- possibly because she's singing her own lyrics and songs. Her songwriting skills are simply breathtaking for someone her age; a singer-songwriter three times her age would be lucky to possess her ability. She is extremely economical with her words, and utilizes metaphors and common clichés in a way that makes you think a step further than you might have.

As with all great music, listening will explain it better than written words will: