She Plays Music |
| Anna Ternheim Album Review: “Leaving on a Mayday” Posted: 11 Aug 2009 12:11 PM PDT Swedish singer-songwriter, Anna Ternheim, released her newest album Leaving on a Mayday in North America today. Ternheim is a really hot artist in Sweden right now and if you know anything about her music, you will understand why. She first burst onto the scene back in 2004 with her album, Somebody Outside, for which she won the "Best Newcomer of the Year" award and was nominated for "Best Lyricist" and "Best Songwriter of 2005" at the Grammis (Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards). Clearly, she made an excellent first impression and her credibility as an amazing talent continued to rise after her 2006 follow-up effort, Separation Road, earned her the "Best Female Artist" and "Best Lyricist" awards that she had missed out on the year before. On April 22, 2008, Ternheim made her US debut with Halfway to Fivepoints which featured tracks like "To Be Gone," "Girl Laying Down," "Today is A Good Day", and "Shoreline." Now, Leaving on a Mayday has been released and I have had the chance to listen to it and I really loved it! It's haunting, honest, raw and downright fun at times. As a woman, I find something oddly empowering about Ternheim's music. There's a strength to her lyrics, voice and melody and on tracks like "Let It Rain" it almost invokes a primitive, tribal feeling. I'm a real sucker for a nice bass line so I was pleasantly surprised with the first track "What Have I Done." It's about as funky as Ternheim gets on this album. It's slightly uptempo and definitely was a great pick for the opening track. "Terrified" is absolutely beautiful. The strings and percussions almost feel inspired by traditional Asian music and her vocals add a tenderness that truly reflects the title of the song. I got the same kind of vibe from "No, I Don't Remember" which, again, is a gorgeous track. As I listened to this album, I tried to find some flaw and I really couldn't. Some artists lose some of their essence and power on faster tracks but on the two uptempo tunes, "What Have I Done" and "Losing You," Ternheim remains true to herself as an artist. This album proves that you can write catchy songs without being gimmicky and I highly recommend Leaving on a Mayday. The songs flow into each other very easily and you really do feel like Ternheim has taken you on a musical journey. Track listing:
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