It seems extremely lazy to compare Hanne Hukkelberg to Björk -- lazy, but not entirely off-base. Like the infamously eccentric platinum-selling pixie, Hukkelberg achieves a certain breathy vocal intimacy, an "eye of the storm" stillness that's enhanced by oddly accented phrasings and girlish sweetness. Her voice comes through with such pristine clarity that if you're wearing headphones, Cast Anchor may spook you into thinking that she's sitting, Tinkerbelle-like, on your shoulder, whispering directly into your ear like a mischievous conscience.

Fortunately, where Björk is brash, this Norwegian songstress is consistently subtle; her songs, richly textured and quirkily arranged, fit together like puzzles made of light, brittle wood. "Cast Anchor" pits elastic lap steel drawl against the resonant hum of a group of clarinets, filling in the margins with acoustic guitar, found percussion (jingling keys, ringing glasses, mouth noises, castanets) and the sound of water sloshing and dripping. Hukkelberg presides over this mutant folk affair, quietly coquettish and sing-song, floating easily over the music's natural curves and moody valleys. "Ease" is a sort of mind-bending call and response between calliope-like synthesizer and bass clarinet; the two instruments occupy such different sound-spaces that it's difficult to hear both of them at once. Hukkelberg, her vocals layered, croons and scats in the background.

The EP's remaining two tracks are live recordings, so if you found "Cast Anchor" and "Ease" a little stifling, there's relief in sight. "The Professor"'s wheezing accordion, plunking guitar and other background noises drop deep enough in the mix to provide more breathing room for claustrophobic listeners, and "Words & A Piece of Paper"'s rich instrumental tapestry -- clattering bicycle, keening pedal steel, moody synth, resonant glockenspiel, and so forth -- create a sort of post-millennial torch song backing for Hukkelberg's sparse vocals.

Despite the live tracks' spatial remove, Cast Anchor is a very "close" listening experience. If you're not accustomed to engaging your music at point blank range, approach this EP with caution.