Anya Marina photos by Jeffrey Sidelsky - Marina poses with S&SSpii
Los Angeles based Anya Marina was recently in town for a full week traveling back and forth on the East Coast, hitting Philadelphia not once, but twice (both at The Tin Angel as support for Greg Laswell and Jenny Owen Youngs, and then later in the week at Johnny Brenda's as support for Lissy Trullie and The Virgins) in support of her sophomore release "Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II" (Chop Shop Records/Atlantic) which was produced by San Diego Louis XIV rocker Brian Karscig. What was Anya's favorite thing about Philadelphia? Not surprisingly, as with her music--she was inspired by "the drama" of being in a new place. While she was in town, a friend rescued a dog caught in an icy lake, and later she was awoken at 5:30am by a fire alarm and had to evacuate her hotel room, but was excited to tell us that, overall it was fun and she loved Chestnut Hill and found solace in a new favorite local cafe (Chestnut Hill Coffee Roasting Co.) for some R&R after all of the drama....never a dull moment!
Anya Marina photos by Jeffrey Sidelsky
For those who were able to catch the beguiling musician at JBs--it was the glimpse of Anya's naivete and charm, coupled with the resolve of a strong solo performer, that caught her listeners off guard. She shone through it all on stage, and roping in an otherwise talkative and unsure audience, to engage them in her songs and demeanour, Marina was able to let loose as her set progressed using her guitar and some pre-programmed beats to liven up her solo performance. With her track "Two Left Feet" she made heads bob in unison to the song's lyrics, guitar and inventive foot-stomp beat--the song itself remaining one of her catchiest throughout the set, maybe as fun, or a distant cousin to The Ting-Tings infectious track, "That's Not My Name". Spoon's Britt Daniel had a hand in recording, production and mixing on the album, and not surprisingly tracks like "Drop Dead Blues," and "High On the Ceiling" sound like his work certainly had a sometimes dark and inspiring turn on the direction of the songs here to great effect. Marina's voice is lush, and salty like a siren's song, running somewhere between that of Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield or the slow hush of an Elliott Smith number; and once you've heard the songs of Anya Marina they won't be mistaken for anyone other.
Anya Marina - band site / chop shop records / myspace
Oooh - She is wonderful. Such a husky voice.
Posted by: Jamie | February 02, 2009 at 01:40 AM