Lissie Aims for MTV and NPR Airplay With Debut Album

Lissie's debut album, 'Catching a Tiger,' runs the gamut from reverb-heavy indie-folk to mainstream pop to '60s-inspired rock. It's a blend of sounds textures that comes from her work with an all-star cast of producers, including Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon) and Band of Horses bassist Bill Reynolds, as well as her desire to appeal to multiple audiences.

"I'm glad the album has a lot of variety," the 27-year-old singer-songwriter tells Spinner. "The bottom line is I'm writing songs about my experiences and I'm saying my whole life. People don't have to like every song but hopefully they know I mean it."

Even before her debut album was released in the US, Lissie made fans out of celebrities like NBC anchor Brian Williams, blogger Perez Hilton and director David Lynch, thanks to her 'Why You Runnin'' EP. While she's incredibly flattered by all that attention, she looks forward to building an even bigger name for herself.

"The bottom line is I do want to be on the radio," she says. "I do want to have a career like Sheryl Crow or Taylor Swift. I'm not saying I want to be swimming in money but I want to be a really big artist and to do that, I do want to be on the radio. I do want to be on MTV -- I also want to be on NPR and on people's cool blogs and Daytrotter."

Still, Lissie knows that toeing the line between indie cool and widespread acclaim can put some people off.

"I have heard people say 'This song is so poppy. I like the other stuff better.' Well, then don't listen to that one. Listen to the other stuff," she says. "You can't make everyone happy but I hope people can see that I'm not going to be one thing. I'm going to do everything that I've been doing, mean it when I'm doing it and hope they can understand."

'Catching a Tiger' is out now via Fat Possum.