Ana Egge: Press

AMERICAN SONGWRITER MAGAZINE- 2/25/09
The Folk Alliance has a peculiar tradition of moving the party up to the 17th, 18th and 19th floors for individual room showcases from about 10:30PM stretching into the wee hours of the night. The three floors of the Marriott turn into a dorm party with people knocking each other over, running from room to room, up and down the stairs and elevator, trying to make the gig they booked for every 30 minute time slot. Amid the confusion and laughable overzealousness, we stumbled on the sublime art of Ana Egge. Egge is a damn good guitar player, with strong and forceful chops, balanced by an ethereal voice which gets almost drowned out by her guitar rhythm - all part of the show. For her last tune she did a pitch-perfect slide rendition of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” on her National resonator.


http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/02/what-the-folk-is-going-on/

March 17, 2009

Ana Egge
Road To My Love ••••
Grace / Parkinsong

Seemingly a wild and restless traveller, statuesque blonde Ana Egge not only looks fearless but often sounds fearless, an interesting paradox of a young, adventurous songwriter combined with a woman who performs with a maturity beyond her 30-something years. Her appealingly rich vocal and intimate lyrical craft is somewhat akin to Joan Armatrading, or, as astutely suggested by Lucinda Williams, what Nina Simone might have sounded like if she had been handed a steel guitar. Road To My Love is her sixth album in a career spanning an incredible 17 years, and offers a more personal glimpse into the life of someone who confesses to having been more guarded in the past.

The distinctly worldly feel of Egge’s music and her excellent command of melody is immediately apparent from the outset. Album opener ‘Storm Comin’ may be the most up-tempo number on the album, but her captivating voice retains a lazy coolness, allowing her to cross the genres of country and folk to enter the realms of retro soul. ‘More Than A Day’, too, has a sublimely easy ’60s soul feel with backing vocals from The Be Good Tanyas’ Frazey Ford and Trish Klein. Egge’s gentle vibrato, combined with classic brass sounds and laidback keyboards, reveals a notable femininity beneath the hard exterior and adds texture and warmth to what might otherwise be quite desolate songs.

Like the best of Feist and Laura Veirs, Road To My Love successfully blends old and new influences, an approach that complements and enhances Egge’s simpler and most reflective moments. The autobiographical ‘Farmer’s Daughter’ speaks of growing up on her parents’ wheat farm in a tiny North Dakota hamlet, a childhood trade-off between unimaginable freedom and vast, aching loneliness. Similarly, ‘Red Queen’ is an affecting tale of independence. “Keep moving, never rest / nothing is perfect yet,” she sighs over simple acoustic guitar figures that are later fleshed out by distant drums and sparing use of electric guitar.

Egge’s stunningly simple yet original take on traditional number ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’ closes the album on a high, possessing a remarkable depth of perception of opposing emotions and absolutely nailing her natural talent for storytelling. It’s a real treat that neatly sums up everything that makes Road To My Love the bravest leg on her journey so far.

Anna Claxton

Ana Egge
'Road To My Love'

Lucinda Williams once called her "a folk Nina Simone." But Ana Egge is
more country than that. Raised by hippies who grew wheat in North
Dakota, the Brooklyn singer–songwriter crafts homespun hymns on her
sixth disc to sing with your bare feet on the dashboard. "Bully of New
York" recounts a sad late–night conversation between Egge and a park
ranger whose hours broke up his marriage (best part: She met him while
hitchhiking). Egge's rootsy pedal–steel pop recalls singers like Shawn
Colvin, but her sharply observed tales of the overlooked and underpaid
feel utterly of the moment.
THREE STARS

LIVE REVIEW
Last night at the Cactus Cafe (how many times
have I said that in the past month?), Ana Egge held court in fine
style. Backed by members of What Made Milwaukee Famous, the indie-folk
diva ran through most of the tunes from her new disc, Road To My Love
(Grace). Egge, who’s moved between Austin and Brooklyn a couple of
times in the past few years, was in especially high spirits because
earlier in the day she found out Rolling Stone gave her a rave review in its upcoming issue.

Speaking to her before the gig, she claimed the Chronicle’s
Raoul Hernandez was partially responsible for her hooking up with the
WMMF guys, as he recommended that she check them out a couple of years
ago. When she did and got talking with them, she discovered the
popsters were major fans of her music and thrilled at the idea of
working together. While a little rough around the edges, the
performance showed just how far Egge has come from the seemingly
innocent folk ingenue of 12 years ago to a world class risk taker whose
pop sounds rivals Ron Sexsmith or Beth Orton.

Ana Egge, Lazy Days: * * * American idle

There have been concept albums about sensorily deprived children, the adventures of the singers’ grandmother, and even one about a man composing a concept album, but North Dakota singer Egge might well be the first with a tribute to indolence. However, a lot of care and effort was clearly devoted to these covers of Belle & Sebastian’s Summer Wastin’, The Kinks’ Sitting in the Midday Sun, Ron Sexsmith’s Wastin’ Time and more. Egge draws unsuspected depths from most tracks and pulls off the difficult feat of making a Sandy Denny song her own. — Ken Barnes

>>Download: Denny’s Crazy Lady Blues, Stephen Stills’ Johnny’s Garden, Arcade Fire’s In the Backseat >>Skip: Nilsson’s Wastin’ My Time

TOP LIVE SHOWS-
Ana Egge, a modern folkie with roots in North Dakota and a home in Brooklyn, first won acclaim about a decade ago, largely on the basis of her songwriting. She is also a proficient guitarist with an intimate touch, having built her own instrument as a teenager under the tutelage of a luthier. On her fifth album—the fall-released, summer-flavored Lazy Days (Grace/Parkinsong)—Egge reveals yet a third talent, interpreting songs by artists including Sandy Denny, Gene Autry and Arcade Fire.

Is it indolent for a proven songwriter to record an album of covers? Well, yes—at least according to Egge. All ten songs on Lazy Days are devoted to the varied joys of idleness. In the Kinks’ “Midday Sun,” the singer sits “with no particular purpose or reason,” proud to “rather be a hobo walking around with nothing than a rich man scared of losing all he’s got.” In a breezy reading of Belle and Sebastian’s fantastic “Summer Wastin’ ”—“Say cheerio to books now, the only things I’ll read are faces”—Egge’s voice slips a millisecond behind the music, as if her body is in a recording studio and her mind on a beach. Aside from the occasional misstep (most egregiously Le Tigre’s “Much Finer”), the album is well plotted and appropriately wistful. Onstage, the singer includes her original compositions alongside the covers, an increasingly unpopular approach that even the best songwriters should reconsider. After all, there’s no shame in sloth—sometimes, it takes quite a lot of work to maintain.

—Jay Ruttenberg

NPR.org December 11, 2007 - The folk singer Ana Egge puts together a relaxed collection of covers on the appropriately titled album Lazy Days. With song titles like "Summer Wastin'" and "It's My Lazy Day," the album meditates on the simple pleasures of leisure time. Egge's has a gorgeous voice that's slightly rough around the edges as she sings warm adaptations to classics by Gene Autry, the Kinks, and other artists.

Egge shows her skills on bottleneck slide guitar, mandolin, and piano. With the help of her band, she adds a natural style to slow Americana and folk. Anton Fier and cellist Jane Scarpantoni keep a steady marching beat with some distant horns on their rendition of Arcade Fire's "In the Backseat." "Summer Wastin" has a simple, effortless feel that isn't too far off from the original by Belle and Sebastian.

Egge has earned praise from several notable artists including Lucinda Williams, who called Egge a "folk Nina Simone." She's also shared the stage with Ron Sexsmith, Shawn Colvin, and Sinead O'Connor. In July 2007, Egge won The Mountain Stage New Song Regional Competition in New York City.

'Lazy' bones-
Laziness doesn’t get as much airtime as lust, greed and wrath, but it’s still considered a deadly sin.

Not that laziness is unappreciated. As a culture we’re fascinated by the art of chilling out - maybe because we have such a hard time doing it. Music is one area where the topic gets tossed around a lot. Type the word “lazy” into the AllMusic.com search engine and nearly 1,650 entries pop up.

The article you requested has been archived

The Virtues of Indolence

It’s hard work being lazy. Life without a purpose or reason can be a drag. If you’re gonna do nothing, do nothing right. That’s the lesson of Ana Egge’s latest album, a 30-minute tribute to Lazy Days.

Egge covers 10-fairly unknown odes to indolence originally recorded by a roster of wonderful and diverse artists: The Kinks, Stephen Stills, Arcade Fire, Gene Autry, Ron Sexsmith, Belle and Sebastian, Sandy Denny, Zombies, Le Tigre, and Harry Nillson. This list indicates the depth and breadth of the Brooklyn/Texas musician’s ambitions and suggests that being lazy ain’t easy.

Despite the difference in styles of the original material, Egge makes them her own through her distinctively laid-back approach. She drawls out the lyrics like a yawn, but the kind that settles in your soul like a sigh. Egge knows that lethargy itself is a symptom of sensual passion. One delights in the ability to take it easy.

That’s an important point to make in these hectic times of presidential politics, world conflicts, and environmental degradation. Egge implicitly tells the listener to slow down. She uses the words of others, but the point is the same. Life is short. Relax. Appreciate the here and now.

You don’t have to be a Zen Buddhist to know how to breathe. Egge gives a master class on the process on such tunes like Belle and Sebastian’s “Summer Wastin’” and Sandy Denny’s “Crazy Lady Blues” that are imbued with the deep warmth of just being. The songs work as mantras for letting go of one’s thoughts and inducing meditation.

Some songs, like the Zombies’ “I Could Spend the Day”, promise of more active search for nothing. The Arcade Fire’s “In the Backseat” takes the perspective of the passenger who observes the world without participating in a way that promises the joys of the open road. What’s better than letting a trusted friend do the driving? Just watch the view outside the window and hang loose. In all selections, Egge’s delight in her chosen mode of laziness comes across clearly.

Let’s face it. Lazy people are rebels. They make terrible slaves, lousy students to indoctrinate, bad spouses to shape after marriage, etc. They can be pains in the butt to everybody but themselves. What some people consider lazy others may call independent.

And they can make marvelous lovers, those individuals that take things easy and slow. That’s the kind of person Egge aspires to, in her own dawdling way.

She backs up her singing with some nimble guitar picking. The production makes the instrumentation on the record seem sparse, but always in a big way. Whether it’s Egge’s letting her strings reverberate or its the work of guest musicians like Anton Fier (Golden Palominos) Tony Scherr (Willie Nelson), Jane Scarpantoni (R.E.M.) and Jason Mercer (Ron Sexsmith), the music forms a sonic landscape that’s cinematic in its grand scope. It creates the illusion of big distances in an intimate setting.

This may just be a covers record, another tribute to something, but Egge transcends these limitations. She makes you want to spend all day in bed, waste time, or just spend the day in the sunshine. We’d all be better off if we listened to her.

The word's getting out about Ana's new Album
'ROAD TO MY LOVE' .....

Songs:Illinois
http://www.songsillinois.net/2009/01/new-record-from-anna-egge-road-to-my-love-self-released-feb-17/

BLURT
http://www.blurt-online.com/news/view/1609/

ANTImusic
http://www.antimusic.com/news/09/jan/07Ana_Egge_Sets_Release.shtml

Road to My Love
by Christopher John Treacy
EDGE Contributor
Tuesday Feb 10, 2009

Egge took a detour through some delightfully "Lazy Days" on the road to her love, and it shows.

Whereas 2005’s "Out Past the Lights" shone bright with dizzyingly layered collages of sound and some ever-so-slightly barbed edges, her sixth collection triumphs with a refined sonic palette. Indeed, Egge has learned how to tastefully package her boozy crooning and musical idiosyncrasies into something wonderfully accessible, thereby achieving that ever-elusive balance between yummy ear candy and less user-friendly creative expressions. Somehow she keeps it all very personal, as though she’s seated right beside you on a picnic blanket, explaining in hushed tones where she’s been and where she’s going... as a listener, you’re being confided in.

One could argue that 2007’s "Lazy Days," a collection of thematically-linked covers, helped usher in a new degree of musical maturity. By throwing herself into storylines penned and performed by artists as disparate as Belle & Sebastian, Sandy Denny, Stephen Stills, Harry Nilsson and Le Tigre, Egge came back to her own material with a fresh perspective. Whatever the case, "Road to My Love" is delightfully uncluttered with precisely placed punctuations of electric guitar, upright bass and occasional horn embellishments that recall Ani DiFranco’s latter day work.

Egge catches a buzz with a broken war vet in the lilting "Carey’s Waltz," and she does the protagonist a world of justice by avoiding any preachy proselytizing, letting the details of his hard luck story speak for themselves. A vibraslap’s snaky hiss kicks off "Quitting Early," a sly and slinky rocker that’s just one of several cuts focused on the imperfections of romance. The pedal steel-seasoned "Farmer’s Daughter" glances Egge’s youth, spent as the child of a wheat farmer, which began in Saskatchewan, Canada - also where Joni Mitchell came of age - and eventually landed her in New Mexico after a stint in Ambrose, North Dakota...population 23. Harmony vocals from Frazey Ford and Trish Klein of the Be Good Tanyas sweeten "More Than a Day," which would’ve sounded equally appropriate among the cover choices on "Lazy Days."

But it’s the ups and downs of love that provide the song cycle’s framework. At the end of her journey, Egge surmises what she’s learned in the lines, "Keep moving - Never rest... Nothing is perfect yet," and follows with her oft-requested cover of the traditional "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." It’s as if she’s hinting at finding some ultimate peace - curiously, she recently married her partner. And yet, Egge offers no magical answers simply because there aren’t any. But the CDs overall tone depicts an admirable level of acceptance - something we should all strive for.

Perhaps the most telling is the infectious opener, "Storm Comin’" where, set against a driving rhythm and brain-branding refrain, she warbles, "How would I know there was a storm comin’, if I’d never felt one before? No matter what the weather man says, you’ll be back for more."

And you will.

Ana Egge
Lazy Days (Grace)

For some artists, releasing an entire disc of covers signals a holding pattern. Ana Egge's Lazy Days is a collection of others' tunes, but she's stretching herself in ways that perhaps she couldn't on her own. It's as varied a set of choices as these things get, the local singer-songwriter with the sublime voice inhabiting and adapting songs from Gene Autry, Stephen Stills, the Kinks, Arcade Fire, Sandy Denny, and others into a sunny whole. Recorded in New York, Egge calls on such hotshots as drummer Anton Fier, guitarist Tony Scherr, and cellist Jane Scarpantoni to paint musical mattes of effortless times. Her version of Ron Sexsmith's "Wastin' Time" just might be more luxurious than the original, and the set closer, Harry Nilsson's "Wastin' My Time," finds Egge as chanteuse, a part that she rarely plays but one she should explore more often. ***