Annahstasia – Tether
Towards the end of Tether, there is a song called Silk and Velvet; its sound is characteristic of Annahstasia’s debut album. Fingerpicked acoustic guitar and her extraordinary vocals – husky, expressive, elegant – are front and centre. The arrangement is subtle but not drearily tasteful: arching noise that could be feedback or a distorted pedal steel guitar, which gradually swells into something climactic before dying away. The lyrics, meanwhile, concern themselves with selling out: “Maybe I’m an analyst, an antisocial bitch,” she sings. “Who sells her dreams for money.”
It’s a topic that speaks to Annahstasia’s turbulent music industry history: signed at 17 to a label that tried to mould her into a mainstream pop star, she quit and pursued a more singular vision. Tether acts as vindication, announcing the arrival of a strikingly unique voice. It slips from Slow’s seductive take on soul to the raging alt-rock of Believer, but every track has its author’s unique character stamped through it. These are superbly written, remarkably moving songs, delivered by a singer who knows exactly how to use her vocals to cut the listener deep: when to exercise restraint, when to express halting uncertainty, when to let fly with impassioned vibrato. The result is an album that feels intimate and revealing: the kind you don’t so much listen to as enter into a relationship with. Alexis Petridis
Valentina Magaletti and YPY – Kansai Bruises
View image in fullscreen Arresting … Valentina Magaletti and YPY.
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