In the race to proclaim Anna Calvi the British music scene’s next bright young thing, a lot of comparisons have been bandied about.
Those critics who have focused on her voice have drawn comparisons with great singers of their time, such as Nina Simone, Edith Piaf and Scott Walker.
Lazier critics have equated the ‘passionate woman with a guitar” pose to PJ Harvey and Patti Smith.
Some have chosen to focus on her impressive guitar work, listing influences such as Django Reinhardt, Jimi Hendrix and the White Stripes, whereas others have focused on her classical training, waxing lyrical about the influence of Debussy, Ravel, Lorin Maazel and Ennio Morricone on her work.
A rare breed of artist
The one name that has not been mentioned so far is Jeff Buckley, that erstwhile genius who gave us the single album, Grace, before he so tragically died while swimming in a river.
Buckley was a rare breed of artist, one who arrived on the scene fully formed.
Grace was, if not perfect, as close as you are likely to get to it and his vision for his music was so grand, it flabbergasted most fans and critics.
Calvi is another of those startling artists whose self-titled debut feels like a masterwork.
So who is Anna Calvi?
Born to an Italian father and an English mother, this 28-year-old has been playing musical instruments since the age of six, beginning with the violin. Then, at the age of eight, she heard David Bowie’s hit Aladdin Sane in her parent’s car. This would change things forever for Calvi as she would begin to explore the worlds of rock and pop.
She studied classical music at university and played guitar in avant- garde jazz combos. At the age of 23 she began to explore her voice, an instrument she had very much neglected up until that point.
Five years later, three of which were spent toiling in numerous studios, Calvi has her debut album out on the shelves, a record deal with über-cool record label Domino and a nomination in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll.
Grand statements
To add to that, music icons such as Brian Eno and Nick Cave have begun to champion her, with Cave inviting her to open for his new band of rabble-rousers, Grinderman, on their European tour.
Her first single, Jezebel, a cover of the Edith Piaf track, hinted at the presence this young singer has, but little could have prepared us for Calvi’s debut album, which sweeps from grand statements to tortured, intimate moments in the flash of a second.
Calvi’s songs feel like the soundtrack to short films, heavy on the atmospherics, yet very singular in purpose.
These are the kind of songs David Lynch would use to soundtrack his bizarre films, as they are filled with lust, desire, dread and the devil.
Bolshy rock song
No More Words has a gorgeous swagger, as Calvi, ever the seductress, spins you into her web.
Desire is a bolshy rock song that sounds like PJ Harvey fronting Arcade Fire, with a substantial
debt owed to Bruce Springsteen, and I’ll Be Your Man is a Chris Isaak circa Wicked Game-inspired song.
But let’s not focus on individual songs, because the real joy of Calvi’s album is how it all comes together to present an intriguing and fascinating debut.