Failure is not an option for Kaela Sinclair.In the middle of recording songs for her first album, with musicians she declines to name, the Denton-based singer-songwriter realized she was unhappy with the results.“There was definitely a moment where I was listening to something, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is all wrong — I actually can’t do this anymore,’” Sinclair says now.Rather than grit her teeth, forge ahead and live with a compromised record, Sinclair decided to pull the plug, at considerable financial — and emotional — cost.“About halfway through the album, I faced what I had been trying to deny: despite the money and time and effort I was pouring into it, it was not turning out [to be] what I wanted it to be at all,” Sinclair says. “It was really uncomfortable to decide, basically, to throw away a bunch of money and hurt a bunch of feelings, which I didn’t want to do.”Instead of giving up, the University of North Texas grad regrouped over the next eight months, and rededicated herself to making her dreams a reality.The second time turned out to be the charm: Sinclair reached out to someone she barely knew, McKenzie Smith, drummer for Midlake and co-owner of Denton’s Redwood Studio, to help her translate what she heard in her head into something real.The result of that union, Sun & Mirror, is one of the best albums to emerge from North Texas so far this year.Starting youngBefitting the 23-year-old Sinclair’s tenacious vision, Sun & Mirror exudes a startling ambition.Given its pedigreed cast of contributors (in addition to producing Mirror, Smith drummed on the record; Buffi Jacobs, Daniel Hart and Joey McClellan also pitched in), a confident polish is evident on lush cuts like lead single Original Sin, the gorgeous album closing Coral Castles or the stunning Better.“The first time I heard Kaela sing, I knew she possessed an uncanny amount of talent,” Smith says. “Being able to work side by side with her on this album, I witnessed firsthand a musician that seems to have everything you could hope for in an artist — passion, dedication, creativity, amazing songs and the ever elusive ‘it’ factor.“Kaela Sinclair is destined for success and I won't be surprised one bit if she is a household name sooner than later.”To that end, Sun & Mirror is a logical benchmark for Sinclair, whose entire life has been steeped in music.“I’ve been singing since I could talk, pretty much,” she says. “My mom said [as a child] I would sing while I was cleaning my room.”Sinclair went on to attend a magnet arts high school in her native Florida, taking classes in music theory, dabbling in classical music and jazz and even forming a band, where she began writing original songs.“I’ve never had a point in my life where I’ve thought maybe I won’t do music,” Sinclair says.\\Going bigEven after abandoning that first attempt at a full-length album, Sinclair, who teaches at Southlake’s Hall Music Productions and performs occasionally around town, simply retrenched, and wrote an entirely new set of songs for what would become Sun & Mirror, laboring deep into the actual recording process.“The vision I had was something more … expansive, more cinematic in feel,” Sinclair says. “I wanted the songs to feel big, but not melodramatic, with the richness and darkness, but have it be subtle and real. I didn’t want it to be over the top.”