Little Annie- Songs from the Coal Mine Canary

Perhaps best known for her collaborative work with legendary avant-garde industrial acts like Coil and Nurse With Wound, Little Annie's own material is surprisingly accessible by comparison, incorporating a good bit of art punk attitude with musical nods to cabaret, torch songs, the blues, and even musical theater. "Freddy And Me" starts out with a touch of art school pretension as Annie recites a sort of free association word piece, but then launches into a jaunty, cabaret-styled piano number, and "The Good Ship Nasty Queen" is camp done right, alternating between guitar strums and bouncing pianos as Annie belts her heart out in her signature drawling whisky croon. The less dramatic moments, though, are the highlights, like the piano ballad "Sit On Down" and the slow, bluesy lament of "Diamonds Made Of Glassine." While at times things might get a little too theatrical for some, there's no arguing with the quality of the music, as Annie has enlisted such luminaries as Antony (of Antony and The Johnsons) on piano and Joe Budenholzer (of Backworld) on guitar, and occasional violins and saxophones give things a hint of jazz club smokiness without being overwhelming. There's also no arguing with the distinctiveness of Annie's voice; love it or hate it, there's no mistaking it for anything else. A slow, alcohol-soaked drawl with a hint of a lisp, it's capable of soaring up to the cigarette-scarred nasal twang of Bob Dylan on "Derma" to the slow-motion scratch of Tom Waits on the cleverly titled "Absynthee-ism." This is a far cry from her work in the industrial scene, but it's a brilliantly weird album nonetheless, especially if you have a taste for drama.

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