By Jessica Deeken | November 29th, 2011
Anomie Belle is a rare breed of artist that cracks into my cynicism. As indie music becomes a fragmented jigsaw of hi-fi and lo-fi, remixes and mashups, she releases The Crush with a full spectrum of whimsical electronic effects, strings, and grainy allegorical vocals. Far from recycled pop hooks, her music is ominous and theatrical, composed layer by layer, somewhat like Zola Jesus.
The album opens on “Electric Lullaby,” loops of vocals, keys and drums ever so delicately mixed behind Belle’s raspy voice. The single “Machine” strikes with an enigmatic chorus: “I have done unconscionable things/ in pursuit of dreams fed to me on the screen.” She sings like she’s back from a long journey to a dark place, distrusting her own motivations. This one gets guest support with political hip-hop artist Mr Lif, another with Posies guitarist Jon Auer. With titles like “Inky Drips,” “Bodies Offering,” and “Lost Horizon,” it’s chills and shivers, start to finish.
After her self-released debut album Sleeping Patterns in 2008 had, ahem, moderate success including tours with Little Dragon and Tricky, she’s been writing film scores like Dark Material shown at the Seattle Int’l Film Festival, appeared on Xbox game Alan Wake soundtrack alongside David Bowie and Roy Orbison, and took home a couple appearances on Jersey Shore (no kidding), besides penning The Crush.
Soon she’ll be releasing Machine as an EP, so if you’re in Seattle, you can look for her at the Tractor Tavern December 14with an all new composition for a string quartet.