Underdog Spotlight: Phillip LaRue

This week I had planned to spotlight brother-sister duo LaRue -- after researching to see if they are, indeed, still making music together. (The pair's third and final album, Reaching, was released in 2002, and Phillip and Natalie have since both gotten married.) I discovered that Phillip LaRue has gone solo. Before I blog a bit about him, let me celebrate the sibling songsters. If memory serves me, the LaRues recorded their first album at the tender ages of 14 and 12, respectively. They each have one of those rare, monsterous vocal gifts that surface at a very young stage in life. Both Phil and Nat's voices amaze me, and their blend together is beautifully powerful. As for Phillip's solo ventures, I hope to hear more great work from him in the future. His voice is gorgeous -- both delicate and strong, passionate and peaceful. Traces of the beautiful side of Jeff Buckley and Kevin Max's vocals can be heard in Phillip's voice, although he has a sound all his own. Fans of Buckley, Max, Josh Groban, Phil Wickham and Coldplay would do well to check out Phillip's tunes.