Ane Brun
Songs 2003-2013
Reviewed by BravoMarco
Classy Norwegian performer, with a collection from her catalogue spanning a decade. Fusing downbeat country, folk & bluesy soul. A curious blend of Tori Amos, Suzanne Vega with a mellow PJ Harvey / Kristin Hersh thrown in. Strong, voice, musical arrangements & lyrics. Mostly slow paced acoustic led. Some very infectious melodies. A few of the covers are a bold choice that don’t quite work, others do.
No FCC’s. Tip Top Disc1: 2,4,8, Disc2: 2,3,9,17
Disc1
1) Humming One Of Your Songs (4.56) Nice balance of strings, guitar & voice.
2) Are They Saying Goodbye (3.58) Slow paced melter, country & folk mixed to perfection.
3) My Lover Will Go (4.41) Has that “Bristol” sound at times. Dramatic.
4) To Let Myself Go (3.19) Sounds like a single release, accessible, yet gutsy.
5) Temporary Drive (4.25) Folkier simpler sound.
6) Song No.6 (3.59) Picking up the pace with a light jazz touch–Duet with male vox.
7) Rubber & Soul (3.11) Duet as above, quieter, with almost gospel touches.
8) The Dancer (live) (5.08) Brave cover. Slowing it even further down, works nicely.
9) The Puzzle (2.54) Lovely music, not sure about the up tempo chorus.
10) The Treehouse Song (3.22) Not as strong as some of the others.
11) Changing Of The Seasons (4.47) Slow drawn out ballad.
12) Gillian (3.30) Has a Simon & Garfunkel quality about it.
13) Don’t Leave (4.02) Sad mellow lament, with some nice moments.
14) True Colors (2.23) Nice version. Stripped down.
15) Big In Japan (3.10) Another sparse rendition.
Disc2
1) Ten Seconds (Sketches Version) (3.15) Quirky & simple.
2) Lullaby For Grown-Ups (Sketches Version) (2.18) Dark, moody & stark.
3) My Star (live) (3.06) Slightly more up beat still pretty bleak. Charming.
4) Lift Me (4.35) Country ballad, featuring Sivert Hoyem in a standard duet.
5) The Fall (live) (3.40) Prefer the music, which sends a nice chill down the spine.
6) Don’t Give Up (6.36) Peter Gabriel is always top class & he’s the star here still.
7) Do You Remember (3.12) Percussion time. Mid paced with a tribal beat.
8) These Days (4.39) Impressive rumbling percussion which works so well.
9) Worship (6.00) Jose Gonzalez (underused) still a lovely duet. Powerful & delicate.
10) One (3.19) One of the busier tracks, more upbeat with lots going on.
11) Oh Love (4.18) Images of a swirling dancing couple on a romantic beach…
12) Undertow (6.31) Piano, leading to full orchestral flourishes. I wanted to like it.
13) Du Grater Sa Store Tara (Norwegian Version) (3.19) Breathy accompaniment.
14) Alfonsina Y El Mar (4.23) A classic song. This is a fair version. Brooding quality.
15) Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (3.42) Standard folksy fair.
16) This Voice 2013 (4.04) Grittier track. Mid paced with a driving beat.
17) Fleeing Good (3.05) Can’t go wrong with this. Bare bones adaptation.