MARY MARGARET O'HARA
Apartment Hunting (Apartment Hunting Productions)

Mary Margaret O'Hara has remained a significant cult figure in popular music, almost entirely on the strength of her one, full-length album, 1988's Miss America. So anything from the reclusive singer/songwriter is bound to arouse interest. While this soundtrack to last year's Canadian film, Apartment Hunting, isn't exactly the proper album for which many have pined, it'll more than do.
Working with singer/guitarist Rusty McCarthy, who lends his voice to the bluesy duet "Love Will Take Its Time", and the movie's director Bill Robertson, who also wrote a handful of the songs here, O'Hara works her way through a variety of styles, from the jazzy pop of "Was You" to the tweaked scat heard on several offerings, including "Never Came Back Again" and "Chez Le Nez Suite". Always clear, her singing is especially crystalline on a couple of folk/country numbers, "Dream I Had" and "I Don't Care". You might have to hunt around for this limited release. But it's worth the effort.