Despite my fanaticism when it comes to searching out new and interesting artists I still occasionally come across something new to me ( but not apparently so new) This is the case with Ana Egge. She is a a folk singer with simple yet poetic phrasing that feels very well constructed and very measured. Her new record Bad Blood (out this week on Ammal Records) is her seventh effort thus far and is co-produced with the steady hand of Steve Earle. Not being entirely familiar with her previous work it is difficult to judge how much Earle influenced this but it does showcase an ability for storytelling which is very akin to Earle who has recently published his own novel I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive ; which was released simultaneously with an album of the same name. A little digging also revealed that Egge's last album Road to My Love (2009) was co-produced with James Mercer of the Shins -- one need only to look at my previous blog post relating to this years Broken Bells EP to know just how I feel about Mercer. It's fair to say I have some listening to do of my own when it comes to Egge's discography, but that is an undertaking I will gladly dive into soon enough.
As for Bad Blood; Having heard the whole thing on Spinner, I can say that it's full of heart. It's songs often have depressing subject matter that might be described by some as Gothic in feel (the literary sense, not the fashion sense friends) Yet the songs are still somehow uplifting when it's all said and done. My favorite is unquestionably the title track "Bad Blood" [ which by some cursed logic is not on youtube yet] Another standout is "Evil". What I have for you is the first single, "A Hole In Your Halo" and although it wasn't my first choice of songs to share it does well in showing what this album is all about.
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