Anna Calvi (album)
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| Anna Calvi | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 January 2011 | |||
| Recorded | Autumn 2010 | |||
| Genre | Art rock | |||
| Length | 39:17 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Producer | Rob Ellis, Anna Calvi | |||
| Anna Calvi chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Anna Calvi | ||||
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Anna Calvi is the debut album of British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, released on 14 January 2011, by Domino Records.[1][2] In Autumn, 2010, Calvi entered Black Box studio in France with producer Rob Ellis[3] and, using vintage analogue equipment, created "a velvet Wall of Sound that justified the hype in the buildup to its 2011 release."[4] The album peaked at No. 40 in the UK Album Charts[5] reached No. 17 in France,[6] and entered several European charts. The album was nominated for the 2011 Barclaycard Mercury Prize.
Singles
The debut album's material had been written in Anna Calvi's parents' attic, using eight-track equipment. Of Rob Ellis, best known for his work with PJ Harvey, she said:
He’s old-school rock‘n roll… you know, 'Hit the drums harder!' Which I love. We both share a love of classical music...he loves the same composers as I do. So I didn’t have to explain what I meant when I said that I wanted a guitar or a shaker to sound like an orchestra. It was great to find someone who understood.[7]
Calvi herself said she was proud with the album and picked out two songs where she felt she'd got close to what she ultimately wanted to achieve: "Love Won’t Be Leaving" (noted for microscopic sound detailisation) and "The Devil". "I see music very visually. And I want the music itself to express the story as much, if not more, than the lyrics. I think I achieved that on Love Won’t Be Leaving," she commented on the former. As for the latter, "It’s a good example of how I wanted to make the guitar sound like another instrument. I wanted the middle-section to sound like the strings on a Hitchcock soundtrack. It crescendos towards an explosion, but in a real and honest way. It's not about bravado," she added.[7]
"Blackout" with the cover of Surrender (classic Neapolitan song, originally Torna a Surriento, adapted for Elvis Presley in 1961 by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, with lyrics by Claude Aveling) was released as the first single from the album on 21 March 2011[9] and was debuted on Pitchfork in the US.[10]
"Desire" was the second single (backed with a reworking of Leonard Cohen's "Joan of Arc") and was released on 20 June 2011. The track was available on 7" (RUG412) and via digital download (RUG412D).[11]
"Suzanne & I" (backed with the cover of the Shirelles "Baby It's You") was released as the third single from the album on 12 September 2011.
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.6/10[12] |
| Metacritic | 80/100[13] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Evening Standard | [14] |
| Financial Times | [15] |
| The Guardian | [16] |
| The Irish Times | [17] |
| Mojo | [18] |
| NME | 9/10[19] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[20] |
| Q | [21] |
| Uncut | [22] |
Upon its release, Anna Calvi received generally positive reviews from music critics. Aggregating website AnyDecentMusic? reports a score of 7.6 based on 29 professional reviews.[12]
Reviewer Eamonn Seoige (IHeart AU), called the album "fully-formed and... an instantly engaging body of work", argued that its "key strength is honest, raw power." Describing Calvi's songs as "poetic, free-flowing, often incorporating multiple styles that frame her distinctive and kaleidoscopic vocal range," he added: "A gifted musician, possessor of a unique voice and writer of inimitable songs, Calvi is already primed for greatness."[23] Matt James of PopMatters described Calvi as "eternally glamorous, but perennially doomed nightclub torch-song singer with a skeleton army in their closet" and her debut, never "afraid to be fantastical, striking," as "rich and strange".[24] NME called the debut "perhaps the first great record of 2011."[19] According to Jon O'Brien of AllMusic, this "ambitious and always intriguing debut... heralds the arrival of a unique and inventive addition to the plethora of U.K. female singer/songwriters."[1]
Mojo placed the album at number 8 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011."[25]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Anna Calvi.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rider to the Sea" | 2:40 |
| 2. | "No More Words" | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Desire" | 3:51 |
| 4. | "Suzanne & I" | 4:11 |
| 5. | "First We Kiss" | 3:05 |
| 6. | "The Devil" | 4:34 |
| 7. | "Blackout" | 4:05 |
| 8. | "I'll Be Your Man" | 3:10 |
| 9. | "Morning Light" | 4:13 |
| 10. | "Love Won't Be Leaving" | 5:37 |
Personnel
- Anna Calvi – lead vocals, bass guitar, guitar, organ, piano, production, string arrangements, strings, violin
- Brian Eno – piano, backing vocals (tracks 3, 4)
- Mally Harpaz – drums, harmonium, percussion
- Daniel Maiden-Wood – bass, drums, backing vocals
- Dave Okumu – backing vocals (track 2)
Technical personnel
- Peter Deimel – engineering
- Rob Ellis – production
- David Odlux – assistant
- Chris Potter – mastering
- Jimmy Robertson – engineering
- Craig Silvey – mixing
- Pritpal Soor – mixing, production
- Emma Nathan - artwork
