Abandon the plan – Piano pop singer Brooke Waggoner returns with a new album and a mighty ally in one Jack White

She never set out to be a hired gun.

But when White Stripes frontman Jack White is the one doing the hiring, Brooke Waggoner’s piano, weaving effortlessly between lilting and propulsive, is as good a weapon as it gets.

Since the dissolution of her Baton Rouge-based group Blessed Yes, the LSU graduate has spent the past six years in Nashville, building her solo brand as a quirky, flame-haired maestro—one who can take classically-trained piano runs and swamp them in hummable, often explosive, pocket-sized pop symphonies.

Paste called her last record, 2009’s Go Easy Little Doves, “blissful” and “poignant.”

While Doves proved to be Waggoner’s best-received set yet, what happened next came as a shock.?

Two years ago she met White through a mutual friend, and not long after, the enigmatic blues guitar icon hired her to play keys (piano, Rhodes, organ and Wurlitzer) on half of his acclaimed solo debut Blunderbuss, Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year.

Ironically, fan boards and reviews were dotted with raves about the sudden improvement in White’s piano playing. Waggoner will take that compliment.

Late-night television performances with White and world tours in front of thousands of screaming fans ensued.

“It’s been exhilarating,” Waggoner says. “Jack is the master of keeping things fresh.”

And still, throughout her whirlwind 2012, filled with stops in London, Barcelona, Zurich—and Conan—Waggoner the songwriter was craving a new project, one of her very own.

Following the bold Rolling Stone-approved “Make my day, now” single “Ink Slinger,” March 5 sees Waggoner release Originator, her first solo full-length album in nearly four years.

“I’m so excited about this one, both creatively and personally,” says Waggoner, who has been married for four years and off-stage goes by Brooke Waggoner Odom. “I wanted to put some time between [Originator] and my previous albums, not to separate it from them, but just to have time to regroup. I’m not trying to distance myself from past work, because I still like it; it’s just that I went through a few years of doing things like writing for ballets and short films.”

As a transitional piece, Originator is an eye-opener, revealing Waggoner at work experimenting in a relatively leaner, tougher rock sound, one with less melodic cushion and comfort but more sonic room to explore these tales of wanton dreams and drastic love.

“From the Nest” is a gorgeous, tumbling analogy for growing up. “Welspryng” tickles the spine with echoed atmospherics, sunrise brass lines and fanciful guitar plucks.

Waggoner’s lyrics are more straightforward as well, still retaining the clever wordplay that was a hallmark of her earlier efforts, but anchored in a newfound directness.

“Living like I’ll never die,” she sings on “Perish,” a jittery call-and-response with a choir. It is one of Originator‘s few production indulgences, but the choral vocals’ solemn lines buttress Waggoner’s warmly whispered coo to perfection.

“I decided I wanted this one less lush and over the top,” Waggoner says. “I wanted to do as little pre-production as possible, to record more in the moment. Abandon the plan. It’s really special to do that on the spot.”

Waggoner says her future could hold more collaborations with White and other creatives she encounters in Nashville, but for now, she is thrilled to return as a solo artist and showcase songs ?she crafts as deeply personal statements.

“This record is too exciting,” she says. “I don’t want to sit on it.” brookewaggoner.com