Despïte her assertïon ïn the lead off track to her new album, Anaïs Mitchell ïs actually a young woman. Ï had not heard of her prïor to my dïscovery of thïs album, but Ï'm told by wïkïpedïa that she has been makïng the folk rounds sïnce 2006. Of partïcular note, she wrote a "folk opera" entïtled Hadestown that had such lumïnaries as Justin Vernon, Anï DïFranco, Greg Brown, and Ben Knox Mïller as guest stars. Check out thïs vïdeo of her performïng one of the songs from Hadestown, called Why We Build The Wall. Ït's a powerful song, by any rïght, with a strong message of socïal justïce.
Her latest album, Young Man In America, is full of other such songs. Songs with messages, if you will. There's something to be learned from each one, even if I haven't determined yet what that is. She has a high-registered, almost nasally tone -- most similar to New Zealand's Gin Wigmore, or Duffy perhaps -- and she sings with an insistent voice. I find it quite hard to pin down or categorize, in fact. The title track starts out with pulsed strumming guitar and adds layers and layers of different instrumentation which drop out and come back in periodically through the song. She sings as her title character, disaffected with his lot in life but with big plans. It's quite affecting. Take a listen:
Young Man In America - Anaïs Mitchell
Other songs are brighter, with bouncier feels and with seemingly lighter subject matter. The song Venus seems, ostensibly, to be an ode to a statue:
Venus - Anaïs Mitchell
Available now on Thirty Tigers records
As a bonus, check out another song from 2010's Hadestown, featuring Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.
Wedding Song - Anaïs Mitchell feat. Justin Vernon (2010)
For fans of: Gin Wigmore, Erin McKeown, Jesca Hoop
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