Anna Calvi’s second record pushes her own boundaries – she doesn’t develop many groundbreaking discoveries or reinvent any wheels in the grander scope of things, but compared to her first LP, we’ve got something far removed.
It is a better album than her debut. Teaming her dark, sultry torch-singer side with something more personal has worked wonders. One Breath is a beautiful, atmospheric triumph.
‘One Breath’ lacks the overwhelming force of her earlier material, but given time it will surely burrow under your skin.
With a work as deep, inventive and sensual as One Breath, Anna Calvi has surely confirmed her place amongst the best of new British songwriters and performers.
There’s new confidence here, and a sense that she’s stretching herself musically and lyrically.
Having eschewed much of the cavernous chamber pop of her debut for more challenging yet no less rewarding fare, Calvi's less adventurous fans may find themselves at a loss as to how to process it all, but there's something both immaculate and broken about One Breath that ultimately transcends its more difficult moments.
While the dynamics may be a little different, her wonderfully expressive, kaleidoscopic guitar playing and that voice, capable of alternating within the space of a few notes from a barely audible whisper to a wailing banshee, both remain as compelling as ever.
One Breath benefits from its variety and from a taste for experimentation which, striking subtle chords that invite the listener to stay and revisit.
My first exposure to Anna Calvi outside of the Mercury Prize nominees list was when I frequently heard “Eliza” on 6Music back when I was in sixth form. I liked the song a lot and was wanting to check out the album it was from. I would later listen to her most recent album Hunter about a month after it came out. It was a fantastic album that made it onto the Top 10 of my 2018 End Of Year countdown. My decision to listen to this album as part of my MWE may help give me a better ... read more
Anna Calvi displays once again her songwriting skills and strong personality. In One Breath, her alternative-rock style is taken further to a near goth atmosphere, relying heavily on her amazing voice and big, wide instrumentation, that really helps bring out the best in each of the eleven tracks here. There are some pretty good art-rock songs in this album, and, while the last quarter of the album doesn't deliver as well as the rest of it, the overall dynamics of the record work pretty well ... read more
1 | Suddenly 3:34 | |
2 | Eliza 3:38 | |
3 | Piece by Piece 3:16 | |
4 | Cry 2:54 | |
5 | Sing to Me 4:01 | |
6 | Tristan 2:42 | |
7 | One Breath 4:43 | |
8 | Love of My Life 3:06 | |
9 | Carry Me Over 5:27 | |
10 | Bleed Into Me 3:41 | |
11 | The Bridge 2:08 |
#43 | / | Under the Radar |
#89 | / | eMusic |