Anya Marina
When you are categorized as indie or rock music, the sound might be just about anything. The alternative category does tend to narrow the choices down a bit, as to overall sound, instrument selection, vocal style etc. "Not A Through Street" a demo from this San Diego vocalist and songwriter, would be sufficient introduction to the interesting tunes of Anya Marina. But stopping with that tune would mean the listener misses some very tasty songs.
Marina’s "Try It and Like It" is another demo recording from the singer and acoustic guitar player that is just a bit off center, in a delightful sort of way. "Move You SSSPII" is put together carefully and played carefully, with a minimum of sound at the start. The sharp rhythm track changes that feel about a minute into the tune. A second abrupt change near the end brings to mind the Squirrel Nut Zippers and the lounge bands of the 40s.
Marina carries the guitar and vocals, assisted by a bass player, percussionist and a few other contributors to this unusual sound. The art of this young woman is perhaps best shown in "lake michigan rogue." She manages to bring some of her writing talent and training into the mix, with solid lyrics. Catch her on the radio or on stage (maybe even on screen).
Tags: independent music, indie, music, Anya Marina, indie music
May 14th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I just saw a clipping by her on MTV and its really good music that she makes. Above all she looks good and also performs well while she is singing and above all it feels that she has the right composition and music. I also wants to wish her best of luck.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
To be honest I almost DID stop after hearing just the beginning of “Not A Through Street” because her voice annoyed me almost right away. But I did go ahead and give her a chance. After listening on most her songs, her voice still continued to get on my nerves, especially the beginning of “Move You SSSPII”, but it does pick up and become a nice little tune. She definitely sounds a bit better when singing upbeat.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
As for me, well, I’m a sucker for female vocalists. All right, so some don’t fascinate me; Britney Spears certainly doesn’t, and neither does Foxy Brown. And while Anya Marina won’t be knocking Carly Simon off her “Top Fave Female Singer” pedestal any time soon, she’s fine as long as she’s listened to in short doses.
Leighdu is right, sometimes her breathy voice gets annoying, but in Move You SSSPII the transition from slow tempos to upbeat did get me to listen a bit more closely.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Those are some interesting comparisons there Fardreamer :-). Spears, I don’t consider what does anything but mindless nasally whining, and Foxy Brown is a rapper. I don’t remember her ever really singing per say, but I could be wrong. Now if you want to compare her to those two, then Marina is definitely the front runner.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
If Spears had been able to keep her once physically fit body in shape and truly worked hard to be a true singer rather devolving into a Pop Tart parody of herself, I’d have given her three stars of five for sex appeal and maybe three for musicianship. The fact that she was once a promising young singer couldn’t be just attributed to her looks, right? Unfortunately, she has slid down a murky path to musical oblivion…maybe if she works on her acting instead, she might make something of herself.
I STILL wish Anya wouldn’t try the breathiness so much. She sometimes made me think she was attempting too hard to channel her inner porn goddess.
May 26th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Speaking of spears, she had the opportunity to change and grow with everything that happened. She was not and is not capable of doing anything other than what she has done in the past. Unfortunately she probably believes that she can get it back when in fact she can’t.
The difference here is that this girl can play the music. And being able to play and write without top writers is a very key ingredient to staying around.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Spears is just a waste of time for me. Her acting is even worse than her singing, and I think it is pretty degrading to Marina to even mention these two in the same sentence.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I caught a glimpse of her somewhere too. I’m assuming it was also probably MTV. Another example of an artist trying to fake a unique sound in my opinion. Its so easy to tell when someone just really sounds a certain way and when they are trying to sound that way.
I’ve heard a bit about her and everyone seems to like her. I just don’t get it. Not anything I’d choose to listen to.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I am normally a fan of female singers, and probably give them more chances than I do for the guys, and I think Anya isn’t too bad. She does sound a little too much like Karly Simon now that I think about it, and I have to agree that her voice isn’t the type to listen to over long periods of time. Once in a while though, a dose of Anya Marina wouldn’t be too bad. I don’t mind any of her songs, but the breathing vocals can eventually get on one’s nerves.