A Common Turn. Anna B. Savage

Voices of singers can be a thing. Anna B. Savage has such a voice. For me it sounds like the equivalent of Antony. A high, strictly controlled vibrato potentially setting my arm hairs on end. So at the first listening session I did not get past the second song. Don't ask me why I came back. Perhaps because I'm that kind of nice guy who gives most things a second chance.

With the above I have said my worst on A Common Turn, because unlike Antony's past output, I did find my way into Ms. Savage's music. There's too much happening on the album which is of quality and interest. Like the interesting interaction between the acoustic and electronic components of the music or the folk elements blending with sounds that are more at home in electronic dance music, without any of the beats that is. A Common Turn surprises at the right moments.

Of course Anna B. Savage's voice is very central but not exclusively so. Around the trilling quivers other sounds are allowed to swell and diminish as if ebb and flood. She has made a dynamic album, but certainly not an easy one. It takes some stamina to listen to the songs. A better word is, arguably, compositions, as these are songs that will not find their way to a mass audience on the most popular radio stations. On the other hand Kate Bush did make that step over 40 years ago and although musically the two singers do not exactly compare, in the use of their voices they certainly do.

A Common Turn is the debut album of Anna B. Savage. In the past years she has released an EP and a few singles. Together with producer William Doyle the London based singer set to work to put her stamp on music. I can only conclude that in this she succeeded fully. When the title song literally washes over me, I know for 100% I made the right decision to persevere. The song rocks out completely while Savage searches for the deepest regions of her voice, making the song everything but a common turn. Impressive is more like it, like 'James And The Cold Gun' was on Kate Bush's debut, ''The Kick Inside'.

Before that seventh song on A Common Turn I had been convinced already. No, it is no easy ride listening to Anna B. Savage's voice at times, those moments are more than made up for in the overall product she presents with the people playing with her. A Common Turn is part monumental, part majestic, while not afraid to become a tiny whisper in voice and music. Until that wave washes over me again trying to pull me in different direction before I come up again, gasping for air. That is what this music is able to do.

Wo.

You can listen to and order A Common Turn here:

https://annabsavage.bandcamp.com/album/a-common-turn

or listen to our Spotify Playlist to find out what we are writing about:

https://open.spotify.com/user/glazu53/playlist/6R9FgPd2btrMuMaIrYeCh6?si=KI6LzLaAS5K-wsez5oSO2g