Ane Brun - Changing of the Seasons

  by Andrew Carver

published: 19 / 3 / 2009

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Review

Ane Brun is another in a recent surge of strong female songwriters such as Keren-Ann and Feist, putting smart lyrics to restrained arrangements to good effect. Martha Wainright is perhaps her closest contemporary, both in the phrasing of her singing and her tales of heartbreak. It’s a long route of tortured and possibly tortuous love through ‘Changing of the Seasons’. Starting with ‘The Treehouse’, there’s no doubt that Brun’s affection for a man with whom she believes her love "will grow old" will come a cropper. Fears of death crawl through ‘Ten Seconds’ and ‘Lullaby for Grown-Ups’. Brun has a supple voice, speeding up with the bubbling vibraphone of ‘The Puzzle’, stretching out a trembling "my love" in ‘My Star’ through a tense two seconds. Much credit must go to her many musicians and the strings arrangement of Nico Muhly, who do a wonderful job filling out songs like ‘Ten Seconds’ with a lush background. Elsewhere, such as the title track, Brun shows she can hold her own with an acoustic guitar. It’s a sombre but beautiful album that will also appeal to fans of such recent work as Bon Iver or bohemian songstress Eleni Mandell. This edition also comes with two extra tracks. Although Brun’s cover of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘True Colours’ has been responsible for a lot of her recent popularity, it doesn’t have the heft of her own songs; ‘Big in Japan’ is also okay but somewhat unnecessary.

Track Listing:-

1 The Treehouse Song
2 The Fall
3 The Puzzle
4 My Star
5 Ten Seconds
6 Changing Of The Seasons
7 Lullaby For Grown-Ups
8 Raise My Head
9 Armour
10 Round Table Conference
11 Gillian
12 Don't Leave
13 Linger With Pleasure
14 True Colors
15 Big In Japan

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/anebrunoffici
http://anebrun.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChihn
https://www.instagram.com/anebrun/
https://twitter.com/anebrun