Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Ane Brun, Balloon Ranger Records 2020.
A few weeks ago I reviewed the first record of Norwegian Ane Brun’s double album extravaganza for 2020.
That album, After The Great Storm, was the first release to emerge from material that began with an intensive writing session with her collaborators Martin Hedros and Anton Sundell back in 2019 and continued through to 2020 and into a COVID existence.
How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow completes the release of that material.
Like the earlier album How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow is a deeply thoughtful record and it’s been put together with great care given to the recording process and creating the right atmosphere.
These songs are beautifully crafted and they deal with the big questions of life.
Themes that have gathered more intensity as a result of our shared experiences throughout 2020.
While the production values are lush the sound is often surprisingly sparse.
Ane’s beautiful voice is given just enough musical backing in a track like Meet You At The Delta to create an atmosphere for the song but no more.
Lose My Way is mostly performed with just a solo piano as backing as is the closing song Don’t Run And Hide.
It is her fantastic vocals that captivates and takes us on her musical journeys.
Most songs are quiet and slow but they don’t lack dynamism. Strings and other orchestrations provide colourful punctuation marks that highlight shifts in mood and intensity.
As a listener I found myself inexorably drawn into the web that she weaved as she slowly progresses from song to song on a personal journey of self-analysis that explores experiences that are naturally universal.
The only track that partially breaks away from the long, slow and vast sound is the wonderfully titled Gentle Wind Of Gratitude with its syncopated drumming laying down a bed over which Ane’s vocals gently ripple.
How Beauty Holds The Hand Of Sorrow is a meditative experience and a great companion piece to After The Great Storm.
