She’s the latest foot soldier in Ani’s Army, and Anais Mitchell has made no secret about her debt to Buffalo’s queen of the folk underground. Don’t simply pigeonhole her as the next Ani, though. From straight outta a Vermont sheep farm, she brings her own stripped, simple but emotionally complex brand of songs to the table. Like Ani, however, she offers the prospect of being one of the next great singer/songwriters in that mold. With The Brightness she proves a gift for deeply confessional and plainspoken lyricism. Mitchell’s deceptively tiny voice, indeed reminiscent at moments of DiFranco and also a bit like nouveau-folk pixie Joanna Newsom, packs a lot of power as she emotes about love in this collection of dreams and lullabies. With a plaintive piano, “On a Friday Night” trades in the good-time, out-on-the-weekend theme with Mitchell seemingly pining over loneliness and a search for self. “Old Fashioned Hat” bears a tender charm and genuine heart that few love songs ever get at, while the warm acoustic carol “Song of the Magi” could be a nice fit alongside Sufjan Steven’s collection of Christmas songs.

Anais Mitchell celebrates the release of The Brightness this Friday, Feburary 16 at Nietszsche’s.