Awake, by Elise Erikson Barrett

On her debut, this Duke Divinity School grad from South Carolina delivers inspired surprises to engage and delight the listener. It’s a safe bet you’ve never heard “Nearer, My God, to Thee” in an acoustic blues setting, or the Police’s “Invisible Sun” arranged for sultry piano and violin. Yet Barrett pulls it together with smoky-sweet vocals. She’s a creative songwriter as well, as on “Nineveh,” a minor-key movie in sound: