Sweet Soubrette features the ukulele, but this is no novelty act--instead, this folk-inflected indie-pop band uses unusual instrumentation to highlight powerful songs with compelling vocals and mesmerizing stage presence. The band's contemporary influences range from the dark theatrics of the Dresden Dolls to the biting humor of the Magnetic Fields to the surprising arrangements and poetic lyrics of Regina Spektor.

Local shows in NYC and Brooklyn's indie music scene have included venues such as Pianos, Sound Fix, Rockwood Music Hall, and Sidewalk Cafe. Other appearances have included Boston's Middle East and Club Passim, Philadelphia's World Cafe Live, and a tour of France. Sweet Soubrette’s debut CD, "Siren Song" (MH Records) released in February 2008 to critical acclaim and received high rotation on national college radio. On the title track, a mermaid sings to beguile a shipwrecked sailor, and shimmering harmonies evoke a sea of beckoning mermaids. The album itself is a similarly irresistible invitation into deep new waters.

"There's nothing more romantic than a doomed romance," asserts the song "Suckerpunch," and there is an undeniable charm to Sweet Soubrette's stories of love gone wrong (or about to crash and burn). This band is a perfect Valentine for those who prefer their chocolate bittersweet.

Sweet Soubrette's second album, "Days and Nights," is now in progress.