Anna Calvi - Strange Weather EP [MentalZero]

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Anna Calvi (Feat. David Byrne) - Strange Weather

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Strange Weather is a forthcoming EP by singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, consisting entirely of covers. The EP was announced on 13 May with a release date of 15 July 2014.
The album was recorded in New York with producer Thomas Bartlett and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell. David Byrne issued a press release describing his involvement with the record:

"I’m a big fan of Anna's two records... and I caught her tour after her first record at Bowery Ballroom here in NY. ‘Epic’ I think is the word that is often used. So when Thomas Bartlett said he was going to be in the studio producing an EP of Anna doing covers I immediately agreed to join in. I was invited to suggest songs and I loved the last Keren Ann record and I thought Strange Weather had a haunting quality that might suit Anna.... so we did that, and Anna then suggested I join in on the Connan Mockasin track she'd done too."
A music video for the titular track, "Strange Weather", was released on 27 May 2014. It was directed in New York City by Alan Del Rio Ortiz and stars Kate Lyn Sheil.

Strange Weather sees Calvi tackle originals from FKA Twigs, David Bowie, Suicide, Connan Mockasin and Keren Ann. It’s a mixed bag, that’s for sure, ranging from contemporary one-shots to vintage favourites.

Anna Calvi has never been one to churn out little nuggets of summery pop, instead choosing to focus on something far more brooding and predatory; the darker side of the human psyche. On the Strange Weather EP, she takes this signature style and applies it to the songs of other artists who share the same particular penchant for music that finds inspiration in the dark recesses of our minds. This proves stunningly successful, no doubt responsible in part for the help Calvi recruited in the form of producer Thomas Bartlett (The National, Antony and the Johnsons) and one Mr David Byrne.

First up is a rendition of the electro-soul gem that is FKA Twigs' 'Papi Pacify'. What proves to be the most startling aspect of Calvi's cover, however, is not the deconstructed replacement of synths for guitars, though that is undeniably brilliant. What stands out is her stunning vocal range, reaching the same high-pitch peaks that Twigs does in the original and often becoming vocally indistinguishable as a result. This ability to replicate while sounding original is recurring theme, as on the cover of Conan Mockasin's 'I'm the Man That Will Find You'. Although sounding less like the inner-workings of a perverted mind as Mockasin's version does, Calvi somehow lends a more determined voice to the song's already predatory statement of intent.

Unsurprisingly, David Byrne's presence on the title-track proves to be a highlight. The song was in fact his own choice, choosing Karen Ann's 'Strange Weather' because it "...had a haunting quality that might suit Anna." As it turns out, the combination of Calvi and the Talking Heads frontman proves to be far more eerie than the original, both sets of vocals spookily mesmerising in their sincere delivery. Similar can be said of the EP closer, a version of David Bowie's 'Lady Grinning Soul'. Like the original, emphatic piano forms the foundation of the track but in this case also proves more versatile as it replaces the guitar from Bowie's version. It rounds off the EP in stunning fashion, leaving no doubt as to Anna Calvi's position as one of Britain's most powerful female vocalists.