Anna of the North - Lovers

Anna of the North
Lovers
2017
Spotify

I've been waiting for a couple of years to bring Anna of the North to this blog ever since I first heard the Chainsmokers do a remix of her song "Sway" (Don't worry The Chainsmokers were cool back then). Her haunting vocal, her sheer femininity and deep emotional heart meant her songs felt like really nothing else. Dripping with dream pop, electropop and I'm sure you could throw a few other pop monikers at her, Anna's music cuts out all the edges and offers this really smooth sound. Yumi Zouma from New Zealand have a similar style but they don;t have that Anna delivery. It sometimes sounds like she is singing 200 miles away but it cuts right to the heart of you. At this point many of the 10 tracks from Lovers have been released because the lead up to the album has been so long. "Sway" originally came out in 2014 and it felt like an album was just around the corner however this batch doesn't include "Sway" or "Oslo". As you would expect the albums delves into topics of love almost exclusively but it does it in this really raw and feminine way. Her voice is comforting and sweet almost wrapping you up but then there is also this really honest piece to it as well that just works. "Money" is one of the more interesting tracks on the album both from a production standpoint and lyrically. It's about Anna singing to someone she is in love with but who is currently with someone else who is only with them for their money. It's an old story but told from this perspective it gives it this really interesting vibe, you also can;t beat the bop that they are able to accomplish at the end of the track.

"Always" has one of the great sentiments on the album about being sick of being in love and as she says "always in the background". It's music for those people who watch love bloom around them and only wish they could be a part of it. "Feels" has a similar vibe to it and if we are honest most of the tracks tend to however around the same lyrical and musical territory. Wisely however Anna keeps the record quite short at just over 35 minutes, meaning that if she started to become a bit one note the album is already over before you realize it. For anyone who has loved and lost, or truly pined for someone this album make so much sense and connects on so many levels. You would like to see her switch her style up a little but this album has a very specific direction giving it a focus that a lot of pop music doesn't have. "Fire" the second to last track is the most upbeat on the album and following it up with "All I Want" does give the album a bit of an anti-climatic feel. However this is just the beginning for Anna of the North and to have a sound this refined at this point in her career only means big things on the horizon. Get on board with Anna, you won't regret it.

8.1 out of 10