A while ago now, Annie Eve teased us with the stunning track “Basement”, a track with clever bass and snare drum beats, beautiful harmonics and is wonderfully ambiguous. What does “Basement” refer to? Is it an actual basement? “nothing tastes like dust…”, or something rather more private: I wanted to give it away but I couldn’t…” , we decide as the listener. Eve herself on Drowned in Sound referred to it being an acronym for “What the Bass Meant.” Which doesn’t give us a clearer answer.

 

It’s the ambiguity of the lyrical content that’s the most interesting element to her low-key debut “Sunday 91.” Inspired by Bon Iver, Regina Spektor and Kurt Cobain, her lyrics are poetic, self-analysing and tough. “I won’t give up that easy..”, she exclaims on Ropes. Even though the album pretty much states it, it’s easy to forget that she’s only 23 years old when she sounds full of experience, although we should be susceptible to this after the uprising of the old-souls-in-young-bodies First Aid Kit.

 

Hailing from North London like me, it’s easy to feel a personal connection with her based on location alone, although her voice does this job anyway. It’s emotional, fragile, welcoming and on the edge of crying but also with a tough backbone. You feel for sympathy as she sings about her experiences but you know she is still strong enough to handle it. The music is mostly straightforward, rightfully appropriate, nothing original and perfect for listening to on a nighttime ride home or lying down watching the stars. It’s acoustically subtle at times like Norway’s Kings of Convenience and Ane Brun followed by occasional hard-hitting finales, which is when she draws her most strength.

 

However, It’s her voice and her words that are the most effective and durable and give her the potential to ripe powerfully with age. MTH