Crawl Space is the first studio album from Tei Shi, the pseudonym for Valerie Teischer, an artist from Argentina by way of Brooklyn.

An impressive debut, Crawl Space is a mix of R&B and electronic infected pop music that stands out from the crowd.  Filled with the hooks and catchy melodies we’ve come to expect in the modern pop album, Crawl Space provides a mix of hypnotic pop ballads and slinky almost dance numbers, with a couple more straightforward pop tunes. While I’ve seen her compared to Charlie XCX and Mø, listeners of Läpsley and even Sara Barielles would also find her work comfortable.

Standout songs include the opening “Keep Running”, the groove heavy “Creep”,  and the languidly hypnotic “Sleepy”. And if they ever release “Say You Do” as a single, it should challenge the current radio dominance of ballads from groups like Fifth Harmony.

Recommendation: Buy it

Songs I have a playlist for: Keep Running, Creep, How Far, Say You Do, Lift Me, Como Si, Sleepy

Songs I would Thumbs Down: Year 3K