Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada-born and London, England-based musician Al Spx, who goes by the stage name Cold Specks, describes her signature sound as "doom soul." Steeped in the old gospel spirituals and traditional folk songs that famed musicologist Alan Lomax spent most of his life putting to tape, her unique blend of Deep Southern soul, Tom Waits/Jeff Buckley-inspired blues, and goth-tinged indie folk first caught the public's attention after an appearance on the popular British music program, Later...With Jools Holland. She released her debut single, "Holland," in 2011 and in 2012, she inked a deal with Mute Records and released her debut album, I Predict a Graceful Expulsion. Her sophomore long player, Neuroplasticity, arrived in 2014. ~ James Christopher Monger