Changing of the Seasons
Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun, who has since set home base in Stockholm, Sweden, captures a spooky, foreign atmosphere that’s kept consistently intriguing and unexpected by Björk’s longtime production foil Valgeir Sigurdsson. “The Treehouse Song” begins with a childlike sense of whimsy, but “The Fall” is much trickier, stopping and starting in a hush of strings that gently coax Brun to continue on. “The Puzzle” could be a Judy Collins ballad with its initial stately melody that suddenly churns with an anxious pace. These are haunted folk songs with touches of playful ‘60s-styled pop jumpstarting the fun. “My Star” aches with the old-world feel of a madrigal, as its strings and gently plucked acoustic guitar weave a web of mystery. “10 Seconds” builds on a full-band set-up, with the backing vocals and trickling pianos pushing Brun to animated glee, as she recounts a man struggling with existence. The title track could be a seasonal affective disorder anthem, if such a gentle tune could be considered an anthem. Weird and powerful stuff.
Dependable Scandinavian singer-songwriter Ane Brun returns with another record of spare instrumentation, slightly broken sentiment, and an unwavering devotion to prettiness.
The title track of Ane Brun's fourth studio album (only her second U.S. release), "Changing of the Seasons" makes reference to all four -- "the relief of spring, the intoxication of summer rain, the clearness of fall, how winter makes me reconsider it all" -- but there's no question that this is music for the more pensive and bittersweet of seasonal shifts: the onset of autumn, the drift into winter.
Singer-songwriters come and go but Ane Brun's simplistic approach to contemporary folk demands and deserves attention...Let’s face it February is a shit month.
Ane Brun, a Swedish-based Norwegian singer-songwriter, runs a record label and writes music and, through her songs at least, has the kind of uniquely...
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