Damn, I am rarely caught this off-guard. 27 year-old Ana Popovic grew up in Yugoslavia under the Iron Curtain and somehow managed to become a shockingly powerful and accomplished blues-rock-funk guitarist and singer, combining the axe work of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elmore James, and Jimi Hendrix with the vocals of Melissa Etheridge, Koko Taylor and Tina Turner. Now a resident of Holland, her second album, Comfort to the Soul shows amazing range, audacious riffs, a fierce spirit, blistering leads, slinky subtlety, and she is flipping hot. I would love to see her live. Consider this: she covers Howlin' Wolf AND Steely Dan and does both exceedingly well. Though already very fine, if her writing improves just one notch Ana Popovic will be a major star. She came from WHERE again? My mouth hangs agape.