Annie Dressner is a siren; not in a metaphorical entertainment writer speak sort of way, but in a literal "I think she has some magick in her" sort of way. How else can I explain it? When Strangers Who Knew Each Other's Names first arrived I hardly looked askance at the sort of plain photographed cover. It didn't grab me. The album went into the stack and slowly it made its way onto my iPod where everything I review resides. She first came up on shuffle with "When I See Stars" being my introduction to Dressner's airy vocals and acoustic accompaniments. It didn't grab me.
Over the next week, the album remained in rotation - still not impressing me when it popped up - until one day I decided - as I often do - to pick a point on the iPod and play straight through. It so happened that Annie Dressner was first and I chose to listen to the album in its entirety and I am so glad I did. Suddenly, it all made sense. It was like I was hearing the work for the first time. I still squirmed a bit as "Fly" took off but as soon as "September" started, I was hooked. The pseudo-country strumming juxtaposed against Dressner's sinewy vocals invokes a meeting between Mazzy Star and Neko Case. The Case similarity only increases as the third song "Cigarette" evokes a strong country-noir feel making it the standout track on the album. Other strong songs include the slow and twangy title track as well as the upbeat and powerful "Find Me".
Dressner's lyrics are pointed and poignant. Her delivery is professional and her energy is good regardless of the fact the songs on the album don't seem to have any cohesion outside of the context of the surrounding songs. She invokes a strong country-noir sound that merges fairly well with an Erin McKeown - esque folk styling that is strongest when she sounds more like Annie Dressner than Mazzy Star or Neko Case. Dressner proves with this release that she has some chops and with some time and experience her voice will become more distinct and her already considerable lyricism and songwriting will sharpen to an edge. Keep an eye on this one.
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