Play 90 second soundbite of 'Bewitched' @ 'CD quality'
Anya's a talented singer/songwriter/musician who belies her soft beautiful exterior by pumping out hard edged songs that sometimes verge on 'manic'! She's an extremely good lyricist and has a vocal range that allows her to express the mellow as well as the 'manic' side of her songs. She's also a great keyboard player, she can lay down some pretty damn fine flute and she looks great.
I recently saw AnyaFay perform the songs from this promotional CD and immediately felt the urge to attempt to put a review together mainly because I felt it would be a major challenge to get it right. Her performance that night was typically intense. This album of nine songs is similarly intense and, it has to be said, at times difficult to get to grips with; in fact I've had to listen to this work about a dozen or more times before putting electronic pen to electronic paper!!
So, let's give it a go. 'What Music Means To Him' opens beautifully; simple, just AnyaFay's vocals multi-layered over a great piano. As an opener this track gives some indication as to the range and emotion her voice carries. Nowt wrong with that then! 'Not What I Become' follows in a similar fashion with classical sounding refrains belting out from the piano. The somewhat lilting vocals are reminiscent of Kate Bush in her prime. Another good one. 'Stars' is sung with a sort of childlike quality against a backdrop of 'xylophone' which adds to the overall nursery rhyme feel. 'Feel' opens with an orchestral 'feel' which continues throughout. An altogether darker side here which lifts somewhat for the lovely chorus'. Yes, I've got there now! So far, so good.
'Dancer' lifts the mood slightly; more orchestral feel, flute, tricky sounding vocals, beautiful harmonies. 'Mad Song' is where the manic side comes in. Two distinct Anya voices work together against simple piano resulting in a scary sounding piece. The chorus has an eerie church organ sound and emphasises the passion of the voices. There's a few moments where I feel that the vocals are a little over passionate, but it still works. 'Willow' brings respite from the eerie passion. Opening again with a nice piano refrain this really is 'Bushesque'. Vocally bordering on the operatic this is a great 'worker'. It'll take a few listens but it's a grower. 'Bewitched' opens with some backward organ and as soon as the vocal roars in it's in ya face! Intense, raucous and totally different. I'm not sure that I like some of the more outrageous vocal work but it does demonstrate Anya's power and dark side. 'Where Did She Leave Me', the last piece on offer here, is a great little number as performed by the late, lamented Fry & Elsie. It's a great song that doesn't do itself justice here. I feel it could benefit from remixing because instrumentally it feels a little flat now.
AnyaFay's work here is quite stimulating. It takes a bit of listening to but there's something that keeps calling me back to listen again, and again! Her classical vocal training sometimes gets in the way of the lyrics. It sometimes feels as if the meter is just out; Anya's enunciation is so precise and grammatically correct to the point of being almost too good. I'd like to hear the lyrics honed, chopped a little to be more in keeping with modern music rather than being perfect Queens English.
All that said, yes this was quite challenging. I think I can see where AnyaFay is coming from. I'm not sure what market place she's aiming at though. This is a little different, it needs listening to, it deserves a chance - Anya deserves a chance. Her talent's here, on display, her talent's genuine, her passion's unquestionable. However, it might be that her style will be difficult for many to accept. Not me I hasten to add - I like things to be out of the ordinary, off-the-wall, challenging.
Hang on, I'm just going to press the play button again!
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