Ivory Circle

Connie Hong shares vocal duties in the five-piece band Reviving Cecilia, but with Ivory Circle, her solo project, she wanted to strip things down. And that’s just what she’s done here, with the help of producer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Beeble. On “Pretend,” the opening cut of Ivory Circle’s five-song debut EP, Entropy, Hong showcases her range: At first her voice, accompanied only by piano, sounds wispy and delicate, but a minute later, she’s belting as powerfully as Florence Welch. “Scarlet Letter Girl” and “Ashes to Ashes” demonstrate even more of her dynamic range, and you can see how her classical training has seeped into the songwriting. Entropy is a striking and poignant debut from Hong.