Angela McCluskey

Scottish singer-songwriter Angela McCluskey has a cult following, but she's probably most widely known through a car promotion: her voice is heard on Télépopmusik's song "Breathe" in a Mitsubishi ad.

"Car commercials are the only way anybody's ever going to hear your music anymore," she tells NPR's Jennifer Ludden. "They're the only people taking any chances."

The former lead singer of Wild Colonials released her debut solo CD, The Things We Do, in 2004. Recorded in only a few days in New York and Sweden, the album showcases McCluskey's extraordinary, raw vocals.

While the CD includes some upbeat pop tunes - notably the first single, "It's Been Done" - McCluskey confesses to preferring the more depressing, melancholy songs. "Give me a good ol' dose of misery anyday," she says, "I think it's a Scottish thing."

Ms McCluskey's just finished recording her latest album 'You Could Cause Trouble In An Empty House', something that she's no doubt been told many times.