Album Reviews

Ane Brun

Rarities

2013-11-05

Norwegian imported Ane Brun has earned her reputation within the Stockholm contemporary singer-songwriter scene since she released her proper debut Spending Time with Morgan in 2003. Rarities is, as Brun puts it, "a way to empty our cupboards of recordings that had been lying around, and another way to mark my ten year anniversary as an artist." The album is a collection of covers - including tracks by Gillian Welch, Björk, Eurythmics, The Beatles, Depeche Mode and Bob Dylan - as well as newer renditions of songs found on previous albums, specifically cuts that succinctly represent Brun's position in the alt-folk world such as "Falling Down" and "Humming One of Your Songs." As if this variety wasn't enough, Disc 2 features a version of "Virvelvind," a track (clearly) written in her native language.

Though Brun's style has been compared to other modern folkers (José Gonzalez, Sondré Lerche, Kings of Convenience) and her voice likened to her contemporaries (Beth Gibbons of Portishead and NY-based singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia), Rarities is an accurate portrait of Ane Brun as the diverse craftswoman, songwriter, and performer she is. It's as if the record is a sketch: varied enough to captivate an audience, but cohesive, simple, and digestible as something that was thrown together from the artist's previous work. But heres what's great about Rarities - it doesn't sound haphazard or disorderly. It sounds like a solid curation of textural and well-written folk songs from someone with a genuine voice.

Recommended Tracks: 1:2 "Halo (with Linnea Olson)", 2:4 "Virvelvind", 2:9 "She Belongs to Me"

Sigmund Steiger

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