Search - Keren Ann :: Keren Ann

Scott K. (DrScott) from HENDERSON, NV
Reviewed on 5/20/2010...

Languid and melancholy, just as you would expect from Keren Ann, but in a good way.

"It Ain't No Crime" to Love This CD

Jay Murphy | Landover Hills, Maryland United States | 09/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Keren Ann refines herself again, but still against the norm

Bryon McDonald | Lawrence, KS, USA | 01/22/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Keren Ann Zeidel's self-titled fifth studio album (third in English) is, if you've never heard her, something new. If you're looking for something a little deeper, varied, and against the norm...look no further. Basically Zeidel oscillates between and incorporates elements of a contemporary Mazzy Star (a la So Tonight That I Might See), an unassuming under-the-radar folk-pop princess, and a guitar-playing chanteuse. The result is an entirely unique sound: one that changes from song to song but remains undeniably her. As Q Magazine (7/01/07) stated, the album "remains resolutely unconcerned with commercial clutter. Its nine songs are introspective and exclusively indifferent to anything outside its own self-created world."



For some reason, this album sucks you into that world; it is essential to listen to the album straight through, because the songs move you from one feeling to another, like stops along a journey through an emotional and imagerial dream. In the first two tracks, I felt like I was trapped in a dark cell, then released into a sun-lit, breezy garden with a view of the sea. She takes you sailing, down a slummy alleyway, into a cabaret, and floating across the sea (in a song that reminds me very much of Moby's "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters"), then reflects on it in a fun and completely carefree epilogue...all in 43 minutes.



Her voice is smokey, laden with a distinct flavor of complexity (in its variations between hopeless depression and euphoria), but also pronouncedly delicate. The instrumentation is somewhat minimal, but very diverse, ranging from typical rock-band elements, to backing orchestral and choral arrangments, beautiful piano, and even some twangy guitar (reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang," e.g.). A common criticism that I hear of many bands is that "all their songs sound the same;" well, my feelings on that statement notwithstanding, none of these songs (even her voice in each one) sound alike. I recommend this album highly, especially since it's best experienced as a whole."