I HAVE NO FEELINGS

This album will not appeal to everyone, and not all the time to anyone. It has a very unique mood and atmosphere. The title "I have no feelings" is interesting. Actually, many of these songs are about love and feelings, some sound quite emotional. But then the sincerity and truth of love and feelings is questioned, and Annette's singing often gives me the impression of a somewhat distant, perhaps even naive and somehow uninvolved observer of herself, her lover(s) and their emotions. Not sure whether this is just to distance herself from some pain; the song "I Have No Feelings" could suggest this. At the same time, the songs also sound very direct and personal. And, if you like, philosophical.

The music on this album is very slow and calm and quite minimalist. Although there is the odd (quite interesting) instrumental part, much of the album is driven by Annette's voice, which sings slow, at times fairly simple but often quite convoluted melodies with influences from jazz and quite strongly from contemporary classic, often atonal. Much of the instrumentation, which with exception of some percussion is all played by Annette herself, often follows the melody, rhythmically and tonally, rather than providing some reliable rhythmic and harmonic ground (although complex jazz harmonies appear at times). Piano, e-piano and other keyboards are always present, and there's also some saxophone and violin. Sound-wise the album is very transparent and natural, certainly the sound is not the major playground for experimentation; one can imagine this being played in a fairly small room, and every note is important. While some composition goes in the direction of contemporary classic, the instruments are used in a rather jazzy way.

Ultimately this is a cross between experimental composition, jazz/blues feel and a singer/songwriter-like melodic orientation. If you can't imagine how these go together, I'm not surprised, because this is very special and I haven't come across anything else like it (I don't have a very good overview of Annette's output, but what else I know is also different despite certain common elements, particularly the voice, of course). At the same time, the album manages to be very coherent. In order to appreciate this album, you need an open mind and curiosity, and you should not expect typical rock/prog elements; on the other hand you're up for something that is about melody, mood and atmosphere rather than being a wild experimental onslaught. Enjoy!