Keren Ann

Not Going Anywhere

2004-11-26

How's this for an unusual upringing? Keren Ann Zeidel was born in Israel to a Russian/Israeli father and a Dutch/Javanese mother. The family moved from Israel to Holland, then settled in Paris.

Keren's music is well-known in France. She's released two albums there (in 2000 and 2002), has worked on projects of other popular French musicians, and has been nominated for several awards in the French music industry, including Best Female Artist.

Not Going Anywhere is Keren Ann's English language debut. What's immediately striking is her gentle, ethereal voice. It's entirely captivating. The opening track implies an album of acoustic folk songs. However, this album is anything but predictable or conventional. The moods of the songs, enhanced always by that voice, range from delightful to mysterious to dark and disturbing. Some songs feature a children's choir, others an unexpected chorus of horns, an electric guitar blues accompaniment, or lots of strings. Often, you have the sense you're listening to a children's album, but then it shifts to a film noir sound track. Not Going Anywhere keeps you off balance, which is what keeps this album so intriguing throughout the entire set of songs.

Quick Links:

More reviews tagged #Folk

  • reviewed 01/2009

    JEB LOY NICHOLS
    Parish Bar

  • reviewed 06/2010

    SALLY SELTMANN
    Heart that's Pounding

  • reviewed 03/2014

    GRANT PEEPLES AND THE PEEPLES REPUBLIC
    Punishing The Myth

  • reviewed 10/2006

    DIRTY MARTINI
    Tea and Revenge

  • reviewed 07/2007

    LUCERO
    Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers

  • reviewed 02/2011

    THE LOW ANTHEM
    Smart Flesh

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.