Anais Mitchell

Following collaborations with Ani DiFranco and Bon Iver, Hadestown (eight Tony awards) creator AM uses her Covid inspired relocation to her family home in rural Vermont to reflect upon her youth and growing older. She uses the “unprecedented stillness” of the country as a backdrop to explore her rural upbringing, as well as her experiences in the Big Apple, the common denominator being the ability to find beauty in everyday life both on the farm and in the city. The sound is driven by her unique vocal styling and melodic guitar delicately spiced with synth, horns & piano by the likes of Aaron Dessner (The National) and Thomas Bartlett (Doveman)

RIYL: Norah Jones, Ani DiFranco, Nanci Griffith

1 Brooklyn Bridge - soft piano opening & gentle horns form a great bed for her lovely voice (slow, 4:20)**
2 Bright Star - dreamy ode to the night sky anchored with acoustic bass (med, 3:08)**
3 Revenant - recalling her grandmother while looking at old letters (med, 3:31)
4 On Your Way - (Felix Song) - joyful uptempo remembrance of producer & songwriter Felix McTeigue (fast, 2:54)***
5 Real World - beautifully simple, finger picked guitar against sublime vocals (slow, 1:50)
6 Backroads - nice jazzy horn/synth accents in this reminiscence on adolescence & white privilege (med, 3:27)***
7 Little Big Girl - uptempo, emotional ode to entering adulthood (med, 3:19)**
8 Now You Know - bittersweet love song to her husband growing older with one's partner with nice piano (med, 3:15)**
9 The Words - exploration of mental health on relationships with finger picked guitar & violin (slow, 3:12)
10 Watershed - soft piano opening slowly grows with each chorus (slow, 3:15)