Ann Marita CD Review
Ann Marita
Intuition
Viking Girl Records
**½
Well-written songs and a good voice spoilt by over-powering instrumentation
Ann Marita has led an interesting and colourful life. She grew up in a Norwegian mining community North of the Arctic Circle before securing a place for herself as an exchange student in Iowa. Following that experience she moved to Sweden and joined a cruise ship where she entertained for a couple of years. Wanderlust took her back to California where she pounded the streets of LA for a while before emigrating to Melbourne, Australia four years ago, where she has now settled. It was here that she met and married musician, Brett Garsed and recorded her self-titled debut album in 2004. She proved herself to be a promising writer, having composed all the songs on that album and she has repeated the exercise on her latest release. The subjects she covers are very varied, ranging from her early life in a Company Town in Norway, her experiences Under The Iowa Skies. Used, and sometimes abused by feckless men, she reveals their unchanging nature in Three Magic Words. She does not flinch from talking about drugs, physical abuse, heartbreak, a lack of self-esteem and the misery of loneliness in songs like What The Hell (Goes On In There), State Line, Wish I Was More Like That, Getting On That Bus and Done Doin’ Time, before making a declaration that it is experience in life which leads to A Woman’s Intuition, the song which opens the album. The songs are powerful, emotive and well constructed. The voice is strong and expressive, although one over zealous reviewer has claimed that Ann Marita is better than all the Dixie Chicks rolled into one, and vocally, has placed her on par with the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea and even Patsy Cline. The lady has potential but she has a long way to go before she can rightfully stand comparison with names such as those.
So, what is the problem with this album? Well, it is being promoted as country-rock and rock it certainly does. The backing consists of two guitarists, mainly playing electric, an over enthusiastic drummer and a keyboard player. There is a lack of subtlety in the mix with the guitars and drums too often competing with, rather than complimenting the vocals to the point where, by the end of the album the noise has become monotonous. Certainly, some numbers benefit from the volume, but the very nature of the lyrics of some songs cry out for more sympathetic backing, perhaps the inclusion of more acoustic guitar and a couple of colour instruments, fiddle, Dobro, mandolin or steel guitar, but there is a sad lack of colour and it is this which too often fails to allow the listener the opportunity to savour the serious lyrics and the finer points of Ann Marita’s voice. One gets to hear the purity of her voice on the opening bars of Company Town, where she sings a cappella in what is an enchanting Norwegian folk style before the backing kicks in, and again, on the more subdued State Line, one is given the opportunity to hear just how good a singer the lady can be. Of course, it could well be that the lady prefers a loud, brash feel to her music, but personally I feel she would attract a lot more attention were she to adopt a more mellow, acoustic approach. Both her voice and her songs deserve that. LK