Far from just hearing about Ms Calvi – and she does certainly now seem to have quite a huge, almost overnight following – I became aware of her when she toured with Interpol. Never one to overlook an Interpol support band (possibly the best gig I've seen was them being supported by Secret Machines in Nottingham). Downloading her album on its day of release (yes, I would prefer to buy it from a proper music shop, but I can't, I'm in France), it quickly became a mainstay in my listening schedule.
However, this is the stage when I really start to struggle to put together the rest of the blog. I'd love to tell you what this sounds like, but my brain falls over itself every time I begin to try. I'm certain that you won't have heard too much like this before. Reviews on Amazon point out influences in Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, but I'm not best placed to comment on that. How about I provide you with a video, and you can make your own mind up? Anna Calvi - Blackout.
Blackout is actually one of the more conventional tracks on the album. It opens up with Rider to the Sea, two and half minutes of gentle and building guitars with a haunting vocal that drifts in and out. No words I might add, just a hint of what we can come to expect.
There is definitely a lot of confidence on show from Ms Calvi, but, 'if you have it, flaunt it', seems as good of a phrase as any to use in this instance. She was part of the BBC Sound 2011 list, and has since gone on to become the headline act on the NME Radar Tour, which has launched more than a few bands into the limelight in its time.
The interesting thing about Anna is that no songs on here, apart from possibly Blackout, really seem like they will fit the bill and become part of the Radio One playlist. Whether this means that she won't get the exposure that she deserves is debatable, but it also means that over-exposure to her music isn't likely. With bands like as the Vaccines being played so much on the radio, or NME TV (MTV Rocks, VH1 etc), there is a very real chance that people have the chance to grow tired of the songs that they originally loved. Just look at Razorlight. There doesn't seem to be that chance here.
Other highlights for me on the album are Desire and The Devil, which sees almost all sounds apart from Anna and her guitar stripped away to showcase her voice.
I shouldn't have gotten so far through this actually without mentioning her voice. It contains such power, but, as The Devil shows, she is more than capable than bringing it down a notch. Her voice has a real haunting sound to it when the song is stripped down to its bare bones, and I imagine that seeing live would send shivers right down the middle of your spine. In the world of cartoons, men would be drawn in by it, spirals in their eyes and wandering aimlessly towards the sound of her voice.
A friend of mine went to see her in concert recently and said that she puts on an amazing show. If I can get anywhere near the stage when she performs at the festival, I'll certainly be happy to find out what he was talking about.
No comments:
Post a Comment