Anna Cordell
Album: These Walls EP
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 6
Website: http://www.annacordellmusic.com

Preceded by the debut single, 'I'll Wait Here', comes the debut EP from Melbourne, Australia all rounder Anna Cordell. Composer, singer, lyricist and finger picking guitarist, her minor key musings are strong reflections of her earliest musical memories in church music and her spiritual upbringing and grandpaternal and Catholic influence is clear in the role it plays in her songwriting and she's talked about her songs "being born from my own spiritual struggle."

It's a blend of rootsy acoustic pop, with a touch of strings lending something which pushes it towards chamber folk and all accompanied by a breathy and fragile vocal. Without wanting to sound like an advertising campaign for a new brand of confectionary, it's dreamy and delicate; the music accompanied by a set of moving and personal lyrics - inspired by extremes of feeling and empathy epitomised by opening track 'Michael' - the puzzlement of the is there/isn't there uncertainty about the idea of a guardian angel. Musically influenced and not so far removed from the work of by Nick Drake and Towns Van Zant, the lovely 'Now I Know' drifts along on a gentle stream of picked acoustic notes before an explosion of voices.Her family are clearly a strong influence and inspiration yet the beauty of 'Blue Rose' is based on the simple understanding of the pretence that everything is fine when under the surface there's a deep sadness or pain - the tears of a clown indeed.

In fact, the use of minor keys, the distinct feeling of melancholy and the quiet intensity might suggest a dark ride yet while you wouldn't go so far as to say it's uplifting, it's a strangely peaceful set of songs.

Mike Ainscoe