Songs from this EP, by Anna Rose, come up on my car stereo quite often and I find myself thinking back to my highschool days. Now, Anna’s highschool days are only a few years behind her; she’s a very talented and mature 24 year old singer and guitarist. Highschool was a coonsiderably longer time ago for me. But Ana’s voice brings it back rather clearly. Listening to “Picture” you can hear that hint of Ann Wilson’s guitar solo, that sharp way she ends her words at the end of her phrases like Nancy Wilson does. Listen to the lyrics and imagine a bit of Grace Slick’s drama in there. It’s not a far stretch. And indeed, Anna Rose does not deny that her heroes are the same heroes of my youth: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin.
These five songs are from a larger project, her upcoming album Nomad, and they give a clear picture of where this accomplished woman is heading. Vocally, she effortlessly shifts from soft, high notes to bluesy low ones which almost make me wait impatiently for that sweet little guitar solo in the middle of “WIlshire Blvd.” to finish to hear her sing some more. Are we tired of female singer/songwriters? Has Jewel, Shania, Callie glutted the market? No, I doubt we will ever tire of the sweet female voice singing us a story but it does mean that each new one has to outshine the others. Anna Rose stands to win this round if not with this little EP then with Nomad, which I eagerly anticipate. buy it here
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