There are songwriters who excel at creating atmosphere in their music, and then there are those who can summon entire ecosystems by blending word and sound. In her new album, The Toll, out on August 2nd, Austin-based artist Amy Annelle weaves the poetry of lived experience into music that feels almost physically tangible.
A fine example of this skill is album standout “East Texas Son,” a song that could be either about a real person or a set of rigid beliefs. In it, Annelle warns of the “hurricanes a-ragin’” and “thunder in the breeze,” as fiddler Beth Chrisman’s wobbly violin strokes create an air of uncertainty. There is something literally thunderous simmering in the background, the arrangement ominous, then full of sunshine in the next measure. One can almost smell the rain and see the clouds gathering on the horizon.
In wistful opener “Pull Tabs and Broken Glass,” featuring backing vocals from another brilliant craftsperson, Jolie Holland, the yearning in Annelle’s voice beautifully conveys the song’s sentiment – one of remembrance. Inspired by continually finding pull tabs from old cans and glass from broken windows in her yard, uncovered during every rain storm. she conjured a dream of what might have been, imagining the lives previously carried out in the house she now calls home – conversations between friends gathered on the porch, and old radio playing – “behind each broken window, there lies a broken dream,” she sings. It aches in the best kind of way.
Annelle explores hard truths and big questions in this collection of songs, like the high price of following your dreams, what happens when you reach the end of the road, and how love can be astonishing and devastating at the same time. She delivers these messages in such a uniquely beautiful way; while the subjects are deeply poignant, the listen never feels heavy or overwhelming. With her co-producer, Cooper McBean of The Devil Makes Three, she’s forged this work without the use of fussy production techniques or other studio trickery. Even more confirmation that Annelle is doing exactly what she was born to do.
Listen to The Toll by Amy Annelle:
You can also purchase The Toll on vinyl along with other Amy Annelle merchandise online here.
CONNECT WITH AMY ANNELLE:
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