ANNA TIVEL – BEFORE MACHINES
2014 – Fluff and
Gravy
‘Mellow’ is sometimes confused and tied up with ‘bland’ but that is certainly not the case on this exceptional recording that is generically indeterminate but probably relatively comfortable if placed nearer to a powerful ‘folk’ style than anything else. It is a lovely fresh, clean recording on which every instrument can be heard, with no real loss of any quality, equally Anna’s beautifully written original lyrics that are projected by her lovely feminine breathy vocal style. The clarity of the voice and lyrics is essential on a lyric driven ‘folk’ album but so often is absent when it comes to recording, but not here!
This album, that clocks in at over an hour and includes fifteen songs is the gorgeous follow up to her 2012 debut ‘Brimstone lullaby’ and although I’ve yet to hear that, on the strength of this recording I will definitely be seeking it out.
She gets tremendous support on this album, with the full lineup being Anna on lead vocals and acoustic guitar whilst the nucleus of the band is Sam Howard on bass, Taylor Kingman, electric guitar and David Strackany on drums and banjo. These are supplemented by Michael Monko on acoustic guitar, Jeffrey Martin, background vocals and John Shepski plays Hammond. They are all worthy of mention due to the quality they bring to this excellent recording and are obviously highly skilled musicians who are happy to allow the lyrics free rein, merely serving as coloration albeit, a powerful coloration, with the chiming guitar almost forming a signature sound on some of the songs and the powerful double bass not far behind. Rehearsals were kept to a minimum and most of the album was recorded live to try to get some spontaneity and freshness into the songs, something that was achieved with interest, with certain aspects of the recording almost having an improvisational edge. This was a risky way to do things but when artists are brave enough to try it and succeed, as this album does, the recording can often cross various musical boundaries and boost the artists profile, something that it may not have done if the recording process was approached with less confidence and competence.
The songs are all written by Anna and are tales of love and life that are often rooted in rural matters, in fact the whole album has a simple rural feel to it, and yet the high quality songs must have been complicated to write and arrange, something that signals a rare talent at work. Musically there is a slow easy going atmosphere to the recording, despite the drama in some of the lyrics, much of that atmosphere being attained by the virtually perfect arrangements and use of the sparse instrumentation that allows Anna’s voice to dominate the song whilst twisting and turning the sense of drama and density. The tempo never reaches above slow and moody but thanks to the arrangements there always seem to be peaks and troughs that bring a little variety to proceedings.
The albums opens with Five Dollar Bill, a song that starts as a slow folksy song but then a chiming,’ clanging,’ melodic electric guitar comes in and completely distorts any generic conclusions the listener may have reached. Anna’s gorgeous, light feminine vocal provides a nice contrast to the guitar, with an excellent heavy bass and background male vocal harmonies. Anna’s vocal has an ethereal quality whilst the guitar adds to the haunting otherworldly atmosphere. Map Of The Stars is also slow and moody, with a similar instrumentation to it’s predecessor but the occasional violin adds to the drama and the whole song is given various deeper facets by the drums not coming in until mid song. That is part of what makes this album such a rewarding piece of work with small changes altering the atmosphere, perspective and sense of drama. Grace And Gasoline is a lovely song, flowing gently with it’s chiming guitar and bass with suppressed keyboards in the background on a song that has a lovely easy going atmosphere that is strangely redolent of mid period Joni Mitchell. For Earl The Painter is another beauty this time with an even more stripped down accompaniment, just acoustic guitar and bass, supporting Anna’s vocal on a gorgeously melodic but intensely dramatic story. Finally, Before Machines, includes some lovely poetic lyrics and tuneful guitar added to Anna’s vocal, a combination that serves to emphasize the low key drama that is inherent in the life lived on this the album’s title song.
The lovely melodies that emphasize the sparse instrumentation and Anna’s gorgeous floaty vocal style really glue together this beautiful album of reflections on life. Alright, you could say that this is a process that has worked before but it would also be true to say ‘but rarely as well.’
http://www.annativel.com/
‘Mellow’ is sometimes confused and tied up with ‘bland’ but that is certainly not the case on this exceptional recording that is generically indeterminate but probably relatively comfortable if placed nearer to a powerful ‘folk’ style than anything else. It is a lovely fresh, clean recording on which every instrument can be heard, with no real loss of any quality, equally Anna’s beautifully written original lyrics that are projected by her lovely feminine breathy vocal style. The clarity of the voice and lyrics is essential on a lyric driven ‘folk’ album but so often is absent when it comes to recording, but not here!
This album, that clocks in at over an hour and includes fifteen songs is the gorgeous follow up to her 2012 debut ‘Brimstone lullaby’ and although I’ve yet to hear that, on the strength of this recording I will definitely be seeking it out.
She gets tremendous support on this album, with the full lineup being Anna on lead vocals and acoustic guitar whilst the nucleus of the band is Sam Howard on bass, Taylor Kingman, electric guitar and David Strackany on drums and banjo. These are supplemented by Michael Monko on acoustic guitar, Jeffrey Martin, background vocals and John Shepski plays Hammond. They are all worthy of mention due to the quality they bring to this excellent recording and are obviously highly skilled musicians who are happy to allow the lyrics free rein, merely serving as coloration albeit, a powerful coloration, with the chiming guitar almost forming a signature sound on some of the songs and the powerful double bass not far behind. Rehearsals were kept to a minimum and most of the album was recorded live to try to get some spontaneity and freshness into the songs, something that was achieved with interest, with certain aspects of the recording almost having an improvisational edge. This was a risky way to do things but when artists are brave enough to try it and succeed, as this album does, the recording can often cross various musical boundaries and boost the artists profile, something that it may not have done if the recording process was approached with less confidence and competence.
The songs are all written by Anna and are tales of love and life that are often rooted in rural matters, in fact the whole album has a simple rural feel to it, and yet the high quality songs must have been complicated to write and arrange, something that signals a rare talent at work. Musically there is a slow easy going atmosphere to the recording, despite the drama in some of the lyrics, much of that atmosphere being attained by the virtually perfect arrangements and use of the sparse instrumentation that allows Anna’s voice to dominate the song whilst twisting and turning the sense of drama and density. The tempo never reaches above slow and moody but thanks to the arrangements there always seem to be peaks and troughs that bring a little variety to proceedings.
The albums opens with Five Dollar Bill, a song that starts as a slow folksy song but then a chiming,’ clanging,’ melodic electric guitar comes in and completely distorts any generic conclusions the listener may have reached. Anna’s gorgeous, light feminine vocal provides a nice contrast to the guitar, with an excellent heavy bass and background male vocal harmonies. Anna’s vocal has an ethereal quality whilst the guitar adds to the haunting otherworldly atmosphere. Map Of The Stars is also slow and moody, with a similar instrumentation to it’s predecessor but the occasional violin adds to the drama and the whole song is given various deeper facets by the drums not coming in until mid song. That is part of what makes this album such a rewarding piece of work with small changes altering the atmosphere, perspective and sense of drama. Grace And Gasoline is a lovely song, flowing gently with it’s chiming guitar and bass with suppressed keyboards in the background on a song that has a lovely easy going atmosphere that is strangely redolent of mid period Joni Mitchell. For Earl The Painter is another beauty this time with an even more stripped down accompaniment, just acoustic guitar and bass, supporting Anna’s vocal on a gorgeously melodic but intensely dramatic story. Finally, Before Machines, includes some lovely poetic lyrics and tuneful guitar added to Anna’s vocal, a combination that serves to emphasize the low key drama that is inherent in the life lived on this the album’s title song.
The lovely melodies that emphasize the sparse instrumentation and Anna’s gorgeous floaty vocal style really glue together this beautiful album of reflections on life. Alright, you could say that this is a process that has worked before but it would also be true to say ‘but rarely as well.’
http://www.annativel.com/