Singer-songwriter Annie Dressner delivers poignant songs with such conversational ease, it often seems as if shes reading from an intimate letter or a book, set to music.

On her engaging debut CD Strangers Who Knew Each Others Names, Dressner offers what may be the first ever Facebook-inspired album title track, as she recalls the experience of meeting someone first encountered via social networking, and ponders the universal disconnectedness we all build by friending people who are nothing of the sort.

On the upcoming album, available in July, Dressners straightforward lyrical style, sharp ear for wordplay and crisp, lilting vocals offer listeners a front-row seat to her stories, as they take shape above the understated music - the result is a collection of 11 original songs which at times evoke Bright Eyes, an uptempo Mazzy Star Fade Into You or Jenny Lewis.

Themes range from the uplifting, self-motivational opening track Fly to the more austere Come Back and How Am I Supposed to Be, both of which deal with personal loss. On the stunning September, written in the UK (where Dressner will soon move from New York,) she affirms to a lover, "anywhere with you is home." Other standout tracks include the witty Hardy Boys (written for a band she once met, not for the detective series) and the uptempo rocker Find Me.

Photo Credit: Shervin Photo