Michelle Anthony – Frozenstarpalace
Michelle Anthony isn’t Neko Case; that is, her voice isn’t instantly compelling. Nevertheless, she has the unaffected delivery of her Midwestern heritage and the ability, reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan, to quietly insinuate herself into the spaces between conscious thoughts. Her songwriting widens those spaces on Frozenstarpalace, a seven-track EP that improves upon her strong 2004 debut Stand Fall Repeat. From the high-intensity country-rock romp of “Ugly Side” to the Carole King bounce of “Lead Glass Tiffany Shades”, Anthony rarely overthinks lyrics and virtually never mismatches the moods of the words and the music. Some credit belongs to her fellow musicians (including Robbie Fulks sidemen Grant Tye and Gerald Dowd) and engineers (including Barry Goldberg and Jay O’Rourke), but the stark beauty of the ballad “White Lies”, on which Anthony accompanies herself with radiantly melancholy piano, proves she both holds and deserves the spotlight.