anni rossi: rockwell

Anni Rossi has been releasing records since 2005, but I first saw her perform in Riverside, California in February of 2006 when she played viola Carla Bozulich's band. Bozulich created washes of sound with her looper pedal as Rossi and a drummer playing a synth kit followed along. Rossi however performs best alone, plucking and bowing her viola while stomping along to her songs. By the time she's played one or two songs, the space belongs to her. It struck me when on another occasion she played in a not so ideal location in Upland, the too loud jukebox pumping out Disturbed and Nickelback wasn't a distraction to her at all. When Radiohead's "Creep" happened to be next she stopped her song, said, "Wanna hear something funny?" and started playing along in what turned out to be a far more convincing rendition than Radiohead could manage to pull off. We know Thom Yorke's a weirdo, but he can afford it.

Anni Rossi's new full length, Rockwell, marks her major label debut. After releasing a number of albums in varying formats on independent labels, including the excellent Folktale and the well established Too Pure label, Anni is releasing Rockwell with 4AD. The association serves her well as it afforded her the opportunity to record with Steve Albini. Most of the song on Rockwell have been recorded before. Both the Folktale release, Scandia and the more recent Afton EP featured several of the songs present on Rockwell replete with dense arrangements for bass clarinet, bass, electric piano, and Rossi's own distinctive viola playing, but Rossi has been been honing many of these songs for years and here she takes a more stripped down approach: viola, upright bass and drums, the viola being substituted for keyboards and guitar on "Ecology" and "Air is Nothing." Albini's recording sounds excellent and - this being Steve Albini - Rossi leaves behind the lo-fi sound of many of her earlier recordings. I miss the distinctive presence of the bass clarinet on songs like "Machine" and "Venice" and some of her vocal embellishments seem to be marginally toned down, but the strength of Rossi's songcraft comes through unobscured in this recording.

"The West Coast" highlights everything there is to like about Rossi, featuring a plucked chord progression which quickly blossoms into progressively more frantic bowing of swirling arpeggios well informed by the rhythmic language codified by Philip Glass in his glory days, before abruptly settling into a final verse that embodies a kind of ambivalence to a nomadic lifestyle. Anni's evocative viola playing is a big part of the enjoyment of this record, allowing her instrument to squelch and screech with measured precision. In "Glaciers" Rossi's slowly bowed viola suggests the sluggish movement of giant masses of ice and "Venice", which features aggressive avant-classical rhythmic patterns that you might expect to have heard on something from a Contellation release - Hanged'Up maybe.

All of her strengths are again evident on the album's strongest and most dynamic song, "Wheelpusher," which Too Pure released last year as a 7" single. Seemingly about Himalayan beekeepers and nomadism - a common theme in this collection of songs - "Wheelpusher" is an excellently formed pop gem. Check the video below for an alternate version. Anni Rossi's proved herself to be both incredibly prolific and patient with her songs, trying new approaches to things until they're right. It's rewarding to see that her dedication has yielded such enjoyable results.

Check out this video of Anni Rossi playing her song Wheelpusher in Minesota and listen to her new songs.