Ana Egge - Bright Shadow

Rating: 5/5

Review:
A little gem

I really like this album.  I hadn't come across Ana Egge before, but I tried this because her "backing band" here is The Stray Birds whose Best Medicine I also liked, and I'm pleased to say that I think Bright Shadow is very good indeed.

Ana Egge has a lovely, rich voice which reminds me somewhat of Ruth Moody (which is a very good thing).  She sings excellently and really knows how to put a song across, and the arrangements and production are first-rate.  They are varied but generally understated, with delicate, sparely used harmonies and very well-judged instrumentation which make each song shine.  It's exemplary work.

The material is very good.  The opener, Dreamer, is very striking with just a slightly jazzy double-bass accompaniment for much of its length, and the addition of occasional harmonies, minimal drums and a guitar for the very last section.  I love it for its originality and very catchy feel.  The rest of the album is more rootsy and folky in feel, and it is also very good with a decent variety of songs, more excellent musicianship and an overall intelligence to it – I caught a slight hint of Sarah Jarosz in places, which is another high compliment.

In an era when we are very blessed with excellent female singer-songwriters on both sides of the Atlantic, I think this album stands out among the best, which is really saying something.  When I'd heard it for the first time I immediately put it on again from the beginning – always a good sign – and I have listened to it a lot since then with undiminished pleasure.  I can recommend this very warmly to anyone with any interest in this genre – it's a little gem.

(Just in case anyone's interested, these are just some of the albums from female singer songwriters in the last two or three years which I think have been really outstanding.  They are, in no particular order:

Mary Gauthier - Trouble & Love
Thea Gilmore - Regardless
Amy Speace - How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat and That Kind Of Girl
Emily Barker - Dear River and The Toerag Sessions
Natalie Merchant - Natalie Merchant
Olivia Chaney - The Longest River
Amy LaVere - Runaway's Diary
Sharon van Etten - Are We There
Eliza Gilkyson - Nocturne Diaries
Sarah Jarosz - Build Me Up From Bones
Amanda Shires - Down Fell The Doves
Laura Marling - Short Movie
Alela Diane - About Farewell

Buffy Sainte-Marie – Power In the Blood
Kris Delmhorst - Blood Test

Suzanne Vega – Close-Up Series and Tales From The Realm…
Patty Griffin - American Kid
Anais Mitchell - Young Man In America
Lori McKenna - Massachusets
Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer, Different Park and Pageant Material

Ruth Moody – These Wilder Things)