by Steve Leggett Raised in Baton Rouge, LA, Nashville-based alt-pop songwriter, singer, and pianist Andy Davis has a firm, melodic sense that harks back to the classic writing of artists like Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Stevie Wonder, and his distinctive tenor gives his compositions plenty of nuance and room to breathe. Davis played all the instruments except the drums on his debut full-length CD, Let the Woman, which was compiled from his earlier EP Fine China and his LP Thinks of Her with a few previously unreleased tracks added in. Recorded and produced in L.A. by Mitchell Froom, Let the Woman officially appeared on Big Helium Records in 2008 and benefited from a uniquely structured distribution deal that Davis signed with Barnes & Noble, a deal that benefited both parties and helped connect Davis with a literate audience equal to his songs.