Customer Reviews

Helium Sunset

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While I do greatly enjoy this album, and sincerely do wish An Pierle would break through in the United States, I have to admit, I do prefer the really hard to find first album by her, Mud Stories. Haven't been able find it ANYWHERE in the states, but I was able to pick up a copy from someone in Belgium via eBay. I HEARTILY suggest getting that cd first.

This artist can best be described as the Belgian Tori Amos; though I think she has heard it often enough to go up in angry flames when you do.

"An Pierlé" rhymes to originality - no really, it does! To peculiarity as well, and eccentricity - and variety - and sensibility.
She entertains by improvising on stage. The instruments you hear playing the songs on the album are largely replaced by other instruments at live-performances. The only constant factors are An's voice and her piano. Guitars become cellos, country riffs become jazz, short songs grow in length, and arrangements fall away to become solo voice and piano etcetera. She also entertains by means of her Belgian humour and slender appearance. She enters clichés, nestles comfortably, and then makes them burst like bubbles of soap. Or rather: she forms new shapes with them - makes us smile, or ponder them and think of how we see our reflection in them.

That should be enough review, really. An Pierlé is fresh and modern, big and exciting. At the same time, she is intimate and small-theatre. She performs for thousands on pop-festivals and achieves a similar effect on people when she plays for a music-cafe audience of twenty-four, twenty-five (which she does, by the way, which is where she started her career). Her lyrics are personal and poetic, yet confronting and straightforward. At times, her piano causes inertia to creep up your spine.

Not the whole album can be called pure brilliance, but the number of great songs is rather alarming. This woman deserves to break through for the entire world to know her music. If she will ever do such a thing? Let's hope for it: this is brilliant music.

Way to go An!

This one gets three for the music and one for the presentation. Four stars.

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands