Imogen Heap at the Wiltern, December 1

Frou Frou’s eponymous 2002 album was just another sadly overlooked CD clogging the used bins at Amoeba until Zach Braff’s ex-girlfriend suggested their song “Let Go” for his movie Garden State. The tune’s ornate blend of baroque and beats perfectly encapsulated the film’s precious approach to growing up, an apt centerpiece for the soundtrack’s ad-hoc Big Chill for the iPod-generation sentiment. Singer Imogen Heap’s flair for the dramatic carries over to her solo work, an electrified juxtaposition of emotive introspection and digital manipulation that’s decidedly cinematic. (Her version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” played as Marissa died in Ryan’s arms on The O.C., the series that helped catapult her song “Hide & Seek.”) She shares the stage here with beat-box phenomenon Kid Beyond and acoustic troubadour Levi Weaver.

(Originally published in the LA Weekly, 11/06)