Anneke van Giersbergen’s new album Everything Is Changing demonstrates her status as one of the finest vocalists, and moreover puts forward what perhaps is her best work as a solo artist so far. After fronting The Gathering for 13 years, Anneke formed her solo project Agua de Annique in 2007 and released three studio albums and a live one. Everything Is Changing is a new step which displays her musical identity to the fullest. The songs are considerably diverse in style, and at the same time they share strong melodies and striking layers of sound; a streaming version of the album is currently available here.
In a previous post on Feel Alive, the album’s opener and first single, the song was addressed as powerful, spirited, and elegant. The same applies to the whole album, part of which consists of upbeat (You Want To Be Free) and midtempo (My Boy) pop/rock songs, displaying charming (I Wake Up) and tender (Everything Is Changing) melodic lines. This is a rather natural progression of Anneke’s post-2007 solo work, and Take Me Home may be seen as a characteristic example; a video for this song accompanied the release of the album:
As Everything Is Changing progresses, its style gradually shifts; bittersweet atmospherics begin to emerge through a combination of strong guitars, evocative keyboards, and tight rhythmic patterns. This aspect of the album consists of post-rock compositions, which display solid riffs (Too Late) and explosive choruses (Slow Me Down), and can be anthemic albeit melancholic (Hope, Pray, Dance, Play), as well as mellow and yet forceful (1,000 Miles Away From Home). Stay may be seen as a prominent example here; a bass-driven midtempo song with an incredible chorus melody, and some of Anneke’s most emotionally charged vocals on the album. In terms of rhythmic structure and orchestration, there is also a welcome relevance to her last period in The Gathering.
Last but not least, Anneke’s love of the piano has been more than evident in songs ranging from Shrink to Wonder. There is one such track here as well: Circles. And the reason I left it for the end is that it is one of her best performances. This is not an easy thing to say for an artist who has her record; but then again, Anneke has never stopped surprising us, ever so pleasantly.
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