Casey Stratton may well be the first male pop singer-songwriter to get routinely compared to Tori Amos. And it's not just because of his dazzling piano playing. "I've been told that for years -- "You sound like a girl,'" the affable 26-year-old Michigan native says. "Anymore, I take it as a compliment, because people's expectations are higher for women singers. Men are supposed to just squawk it out."His countertenor vocals -- powerful, sweet and passionate -- have gotten as much attention as his sweeping, piano-driven ballads about "relationships crashing to the ground," as he puts it. "My voice is a built-in thing, but the songwriting is what's most important," he says. The self-taught pianist and classically trained singer moved to L.A. at 18, toiling for years in search of the elusive big break. ("I got rejected by every major label: "You're too unique, too emotional, too complex.'") Things started turning around in early 2002 and suddenly he found himself in a bidding war. He chose the quasi-classical Odyssey label and landed Patrick Leonard (of Madonna-Elton-Jewel fame) to produce his debut, Standing at the Edge. "I'd heard Pat was a diva and a rock star, but I didn't feel like anything but an equal," Stratton said. "When it comes to my music, I have claws."

Sat., March 27, 10 p.m., $10, opening for Bleu, NXNW, 7165 Germantown Ave., 215-248-1000.