Tues. Dec. 19

What the world needs now is a new ... Beth Orton or Beth Gibbons? Well, we've always loved Portishead and its ethereal singer (Gibbons) and now we've got Natalie Walker in our midst with her debut disc, "Urban Angel," and a gig at the Paradise Lounge Tuesday Dec. 19. Walker was raised in Indiana, part of a Born Again Christian family. Did she rebel? Not exactly. She praises her parents as being "great, but ... strict." School, college, classmates - not so cool. Walker's music floats gently, comforts. There are bits of electronica, shimmering guitars, slow-to-mid tempos. It's easy on the ears, but not in a saccharine (bad) way. She lulls you into her dreamy world. Religious? Walker calls herself "sensitive, but also goofy. I'm caring and creative. .. I don't want to glamorize my image. Yet, I don't want to give the impression that I'm this conservative, religious girl, either. People watch you like a hawk. It's silly." Ok, Nat, we'll just sit back and let the gentle waves wash over us and chill out. (Trivia: She used to sing in Daughter Darling and her songs have been heard in "Entourage" and on the TV trailer for "Marie Antoninette.")  Tickets: $10. Doors at 7 p.m.

969 Commonwealth Ave., 617-562-8801 thedise.com