Anna Ternheim
Halfway to five points
Decca Records
Honestly, we will never hear Anna Ternheim sing songs more cheerfully than "Today is a good day" (track 3), but that doesn't matter. Not at all. She can be called Sweden's singer/songwriter queen when it comes to English lyrics and songs, with dark mystifying tunes. This is sloshed high-quality music, this is fragile and fragile is good, fragile is to invite us listeners to participate. You could recently hear her on National Public Radio's World Cafe with David Dye and maybe you have seen her around here and there, and maybe you have caught some of her tunes, which according to some can be abscribed a likeness to PJ Harvey or Nick Cave. Anyhow, her new album, "Halfway to five points", was recorded during this winter when Anna Ternheim successfully merged old handpicked songs from the album "Separation road" with a few fresh ones into this new assemblage, portraying one of those stay-home and stay-inside-days, when you just want to stay in your bed, daydream and let the mind go elsewhere. I would say this is a new dreamier Ternheim sound going more narrative, with an orchestral touch and more experimental acoustic instruments which, for example, make the new version of "Girl laying down" exquisite. The more "Halfway to five points" is played in my stereo, the more it makes sense and the more beautiful it's turning out to be. I just want to stay inside, listen to her fragile tunes, stare up in the ceiling and exist in the music. This album has a good freaking message.
- Therese Buxfäldt
