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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Subtly beautiful., May 8, 2007
Critically-acclaimed singer / songwriter Keren Ann Zeidel returns with her fifth album. Often favourably compared to Françoise Hardy, Nico, Serge Gainsbourg, Mazzy Star, Rufus Wainright and Suzanne Vega, Keren Ann is a truly special and engaging artist, one whose work evolves and grows, often with every listen.
"Keren Ann" is the follow up to 2004's Nolita, which was greeted with rave reviews around the globe proclaiming Keren Ann's voice "as alluring as that of Astrid Gilberto and with an emotional languor that would have done Chet Baker proud".
The new self-titled album has been produced by Keren Ann and mixed by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Alanis Morissette).
I was a little nervous about this new one, since Nolita was not an excellent album in my opinion.
Pretty much immediately after starting it, the new album sounded so stunningly beautiful and different.
It was like a city of ice slowly melting as the sun sinks sending rays of warming glow over the ice melting it filling the land with sparkles. So that was a little ridiculous for a comparison beteen the new album and the previous, but it is so clean and twinkly, the sound is crystalline even.
Her vocals are nearly whispery soft, parts of the album are nearly spoken because of her delicate voice. Even though they are so light and airy, and there is something so aged and sexy about it. Without a doubt, they are the focus of the album.
The instrumentation is merely there to compliment the mood of her voice, it's so wonderfully melded together. There are actually many instruments being used, but so softly it gives a dream like illusion to the music.
Most of the self-produced tracks burns slowly, but intricate details add sparkle: Hand claps open "Lay Your Head Down", and tinkling piano closes "In Your Back".
Towards the end she even utilized a choir without having it be overpowering to her dainty songs. The only song that nearly fell out of this mood was the fifth song "It Ain't No Crime", which features a crunchy guitar sound, and it is somehow subtilely forceful but still quite jewel toned.
The album is entirely in English which is rather different for Keren Ann, but I hope it gains her a wider audience for she surely is talented and has a lot to offer if only people were willing to listen
Highlights include also "Lay Your Head Down", which is propelled by handclaps, harmonica, and a mix of strings
Don't miss Keren Ann on tour later on this year.
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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clarity....., May 11, 2007
So, after several listens to this album, I kept thinking, where have I heard this before?
Obviously, I have'nt heard it before but one singer/songwriter from the past that I dearly love became apparent; Dagmar Krause/Slapp Happy.
They are very different but in some strange way it's as if Keren has channeled that brittle beauty that Dagmar is/was so good at.
I'll listen to it many more times over the coming months to see how it holds up.
Could possibly become a classic....
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3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"It Ain't No Crime" to Love This CD, September 10, 2007
On this, her fifth album, Keren Ann really nails it. With echoes of the Velvet Underground & Nico, Mazzy Star & Hope Sandoval and a bit of Suzanne Vega, this CD sounds like having a waking dream. This is only the second CD I own of hers. I didn't enjoy "Nolita", having listened to my brother's copy but I am quite fond of "Not Going Anywhere". As much as I enjoyed that effort, this one knocks me out. The arrangements, both instrumental and vocal are at once subtle, complex and surprisingly unexpected and fresh. A few of the disc's shining high points include the Mazzy-infused "It's All A Lie" with its buzzing guitar swaths propelling the rhythm and great atmospherics adding color; the infectious hand-clap-happy "Lay Your Head Down". These have got to be the most intricate hand-claps I've ever heard- really cool. There's also an excellent string section and some Laurie Anderson-like "ah-ah-ah"s near the song's end that echo the rhythm of the previous hand-claps. With its squalling guitar and dirty-sounding minimalist drums reminiscent of the V.U.'s Mo Tucker, "It Ain't No Crime" sounds just slightly out of place with the rest of the set but it somehow works just the same. We end our journey in "Caspia" and I anxiously await Keren's next CD.
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by Keren Ann 
