Singer/songwriter Swati sometimes describes her music as "acoustic metal," which has more to do with the ferocity with which she strums her opened-tuned guitar than any apparent Black Sabbath influence, but it also reflects the personal and uncompromising nature of her songs and the intensity of her vocal style, as challenging as anything run through a wall of Marshall amps. Born in New York City in 1973 to parents who had emigrated from India, Swati Sharma grew up in a musical household, and studied classical trombone as a teenager. While Swati was good enough to perform in a...