For: Edith Frost, Tiny Vipers, Laura Gibson
Byline: An arresting collection of portable pacific northwest melancholy kept simple and beautiful on an acoustic guitar and looped vocal accompaniment.
China Mountain can be found on a map. Right...There. Lotte Kestner's musical influences are traceable as well. On China Mountain we hear echoes of early nineties slowcore bands like Idaho and Hayden, we get the sense of the strong female singer-songwriter signed to Sub-Pop, K, and Kill Rockstars record labels, as well as flashes of the faraway hazinesss of Laura Gibson's latest ambient/improvised project with Ethan Rose. China Mountain, like its musical influences are rooted in the northwest. China Mountain is a floating island in the sky, untracable, unlocatable, umapped. Felt more than seen. Recorded on an 8-track in the middle of Marfa, Texas, Kestner takes her quaint, closed, influences and rolls them across the expanses of Texas-plain nothingness. Her minimal compositions sound vast, big enough to get lost in, but quiet enough to sound like someone singing in the motel room next to you. Singing close to the microphone, Kestner's voice seems to overwhelm on the first listen but tapers back on subsequent spins allowing a more three dimensional soundscape to emerge. Were those trumpets on "Compasses"? Sleigh bells on "Leif Erickson"? I am not going to ruin the suprise. Kestner's voice, while often adorned with only skeletal guitar lines and occasional looped vocal arrangements, swirl and form into a cloudy Wang Hui painting, all mist shrouded and depth-perception challenged. It is hard to imagine Kestner's voice accompanying the mundane, repeated acts of domesticity. Frequent nature allegories tie this record to the expanses of a dusk-fading field or a choked forest full of man-sized ferns and moss-covered trunks. Take this album for a spin. A hike. A walkabout. A pilgrimage. A hadj. You will be in good company.
~ Ryan Hall, Tome to the Weather Machine

lotte kestner is the solo project of trespassers william’s singer-songwriter anna-lynne williams. this is a pretty delicate record, and i definitely have to be in the right mood to listen to it - when in the right mood though, what a record! the first song is one of the saddest things ever, and it kinda sets the tone for the rest of an album. try mashing together joanna newsom and will oldham or something, and you might be close to what this sounds like. its pretty sparse; mostly just her voice and guitar (with the odd melodica and quiet woodwind instrument), but her voice is so sublime that she could get away with it completely a cappella. do not expect any urgency here. this is very gentle. very slow. like creaking floorboards. some heartache. some optimism. a bit like floating. it is a grower, and something you need to give attention. away you go...somewhere on your little shimmering boat.... cccrrrssshhhhbbbuuuuuhhh (the sound of waves, ya know? ya know!). “fainted twice / once like butterflies / and once like ice.” lovely.
~ Feels like a Rainbow

I missed this album the first time around (2008). Timing is a funny thing, for as much time as there actually is, it has an uncanny knack for being extremely precise. Had I come across this album two years ago, there’s a fair chance it wouldn’t have resonated as much as it does now; so, I use the word ‘missed’ quite on purpose as it seems the re-release of China Mountain was timed to show exactly what my Australian winter has been lacking.
Lotte Kestner, the solo project of Anna-Lynne Williams, delivers a down-tempo folk album that is both reminiscent of her work as singer-songwriter with Trespassers William, and distinct enough so as not to be derivative. Anna-Lynne’s moderately hushed and dreamy vocals also give some welcome warmth and depth to the delicate, gently moving songs. Much like Mazzy Star-era Hope Sandoval, the emotion is largely in the words themselves, and they unravel in a similarly haunting fashion.
What sets this apart the most is a wonderfully near-fragile sense of the whimsical, which is as earthy as it is light. It’s like the Little Match Girl instead sold all of her matches and bought a guitar. Now grown up, she no longer finds solace in striking a match for the momentary flare and longing so intently as to create vivid imagery of the things she desires yet remains distanced from. Instead, she sets a softly glowing candle, reminisces and wonders; encapsulating moments she has experienced with a fond embrace – be they happy, sad or somewhere in between.
Whimsy and folk do have a tendency to go hand in hand, but it doesn’t always work when dealing with the complications of relationships. There’s a danger of making light of either the subject matter or the intensity of the emotions. Often the point is lost or falls short of connecting with the audience on a deeper level through the unfortunate and seemingly superficial nature of whimsy itself. With China Mountain it not only works, but it’s done beautifully. By giving them that sense of fragility, it keeps the songs out of the clouds and much closer to the heart – whose wistfulness is just as susceptible to being fractured by realities.
The primary desire still seems to be to connect, to share and be a part of something that sustains instead of burning out and leaving fingers decidedly singed. While these things are spoken of in detail, they are given enough space for the perspective to remain tender rather than veer towards outright melancholy, bitterness, or worse, overly sweet sentimentality. Through Lotte Kestner, Anna-Lynn Williams explores various aspects and effects of distance, both near and far. She also provides the listener with opportunities to close those distances – on ‘Temperature’ for example she promises “I will sing la da da da with you“, and it’s just too lovely an offering not to sing it back.
~ Angie Mack, [sic] Magazine

Charlotte Kestner was certain a type of woman, the kind of woman that finds herself living as a character in a novel by Goethe, the kind of woman who makes narrators rejoice and despair, love and live, and end their stories with tragedies.
Lotte Kestner might be the same, depending on the kind of day on which her music finds you. Not every day is a good day to confront those ghosts of our own heads, the long-dressed heroines of a long-dead Weimar. The songs reach out - threads waiting for the pin, bare, with voices clinging to softly-played guitars like night swimmers, treading water amid the cold broken reflections of the moon. They beckon to you, but you can't go in alone.
~ The Torture Garden

German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe looms large over Western society and his interest in incorporating many cultures into his philosophies is a large reason why we live in a global village today. Therefore, it is unsurprising that a young woman from Seattle would name her solo debut after a character in Goethe’s novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. With China Mountain, Anna-Lynne Williams is giving a voice to the heroine unrepresented in letters written by Werther, which form the basis for Goethe’s novel. Assuming the voice of Lotte Kestner is an ambitious task, considering the source material, I do not think Williams is attempting a revisionist perspective; instead, she is merely identifying with the tragedy that befell the young woman of Wahlheim.
I have no intention of asserting that this album is directly aimed at giving a voice to a specific literary character in the way that fandom gives voices to characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am more interested in the way Williams echoes the concerns of a character representative of a deeply rooted archetype in the tragic discipline as Goethe once did in 1774. The timeless essence of a tragedy like this is what links cultures when the details seem to create distance, and at a time when some societies seem so distant from each other, reestablishing linkage in small ways reverberates beyond the release of an album.
This tragedy, assuming responsibility for another’s pain, manifests in Williams’ lyrics in such a delicate and heartbreaking way that even the strongest person would, as she sings on “Fainting Spells,” faint “once like butterflies and once like ice.” Some of her lyrics address the unfair nature of a one sided courtship (“do they make flowers for this/ what color means you don’t care how she lives”), the type chosen by Werther, while others address the guilt felt indulging such admiration: “did I try too hard loving/ crush the bird you’re holding.” And these are all in just one song, “Crush the Bird.”
Williams brings the theme into modern terms with “Cattleya,” introducing insomnia not as a curable ailment for the drug companies to tackle, but as an indication of emotional sensors working overtime: “but I’m not free/ til you say this life is worse without me.” The idea that our societal problems cannot be solved with a pill is never mentioned, but we are all familiar with promises of a restful sleep when all we receive is a temporary pass from our problems. Williams intends to solve Lotte Kestner’s problems, but she requires some cooperation. Her adept translation of such a complex emotional battle suggests Williams may have some familiarity with unrequited love, but whether it is direct or indirect I have no basis to even guess. I can only be among the grateful that a woman with a gift for expression chose to address such a tragedy.
I have written all about her lyrical directness, something more opaque in her work with Trespassers William, but I am able to hang on to every word she sings because of the minimal arrangements. Sparse strings and spaced out pianos fill up the landscape, with “Lula Boat” and “Leif Erikson” being the exceptions. While “Leif Erikson” is an Interpol cover that is probably included for personal reasons unbeknownst to me, “Lula Boat” is something that could have easily been on a Trespassers William album with its allegorical word play, electric guitar and drumming. Aside from those tracks, though, the album is very consistent sonically and feels like an outpouring of focused songwriting that had no place in any of Williams’ other projects. It’s not always accurate to call a side project focused, but in this case even the artwork reflects the album. Designed by Heisuke Kitazawa, the image is entitled “A Portrait of Lotte Kestner,” and depicts woman holding a book from which her unattached and faceless head emerges attached to the head of a deer. I see timelessness and reflection in this image, something China Mountain balances well.
~ Mitchell Bandur, Stereo Subversion

So I am finally posting on Lotte Kestner’s China Mountain, another great album this year which came out of nowhere (for me at least – and it has been out for months already).  If you are a member of the Last.fm group Slow-coustic, you are more than aware of this incredible singer-songwriter Anna-Lynne Williams as I have been pushing her on all that I possibly can!
Well, actually you may know her from Trespassers William where she has been bringing in her soft, breathy vocals to work on a regular basis.  While I think she does a stellar job with TW, she really excels on this release and comes into her own.  While it doesn’t stray too far from what we are used to hearing from her previous work,  this is more of a personal/intimate album in my opinion.  Whether it is the story of her recording it in her bedroom over the course of almost a year or if it is the subtle use, just a slight bit (did I only say a touch) of electronic in the finalizing stage of the album.  I personally think the one aspect that has really grown on me is the recording of her vocals.  It is almost as if she is purposefully not singing directly into the microphone on some songs with slight use of echo and in the next song you have clear, crisp and haunting vocals – stellar.  This makes it even better for me, the aspect of lo-fi goodness wrapped up in beautiful arrangements with great recording/mastering to a final product.
While I am very comfortable in the shoegaze/indie/downtempo realm, singer songwriter Anna Lynne Williams has made me a full-on fan.  While I do tend to gush on artists I enjoy, it is warranted here, and I need you to feel the same way!  So join in on my love-fest with Lotte Kestner with a small introduction below.  The stand out tracks “Leif Erikson” and “Compasses” are below, but visit her on her MySpace or CD Baby to learn more and pick up a copy.
~ Smansmith, slowcoustic

Lotte Kestner is the solo project of Trespassers William’s singer/songwriter Anna-Lynne Williams, recorded over a year in her bedroom, and mixed in a Seattle studio with Trespassers bandmate Matt Brown. While most of the album is made up of layers of Anna-Lynne’s voice and acoustic guitar playing, there are brief appearances from Jeff Martin of Idaho, Ross Simonini of Trespassers William, and Toby Campbell of Anomie Belle, on a number of instruments. As well as harmonica, keys, drums, ukulele, and harp played by Anna-Lynne.
Over the past few years, Anna-Lynne has lent her voice to songs by the Chemical Brothers, Minotaur Shock, Noise Unit, Phononoir, Anomie Belle, Au Revoir Borealis, and AFI.
~ Bolachas

In the vein of My Bloody Valentine, Jolie Holland, and perhaps even Codeine, those remarkable shoe-gazers that were part of Sub Pop’s early catalog. Williams’ music is moody, inward, and her lyrics are wonderfully unpredictable.
~ Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Anna Lynne Williams has one of the most intoxicating voices in modern music.
~ Auralgasms

Even though it doesn’t matter what she’s singing–the mood translates well through melody and instrumentation–it’s lucky for the listener that the lyrics are included in the CD booklet. The sheer poetry of the songs is remarkable.
~ Seattle Sound

Anna-Lynne Williams has one of those crystal-clear voices made up of shyness, loneliness and quiet despair.
~ NME

SoCal has fond memories of Trespassers William, the Orange County-bred dreampop outfit who fled to the Pacific Northwest around the time 2004’s “Different Stars” was worming its way into our ears. Matt Brown and Anna-Lynne Williams have released precious little TW music since 2006 (only two EPs), but Williams has been involved in other projects — collaborating with Texas folk artist Robert Gomez as well as doing a solo album as Lotte Kestner. The latter work, titled “China Mountain,” came out this summer on Silber Records, and it’s a sweet collection of spare, acoustic folk. “Temperature,” for one thing, reveals that it doesn’t have to be cloying to rhyme “tra-la-la-la” and “la-da-di-da.”
~ Kevin Bronson, Buzz Bands

This deep and earthen soulful folk singer hails from Seattle and seems quite akin to the weather typical in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Singer Anne-Lynne Williams has endeavored to make quite an interesting solo side project under the name of Lotte Kestner, and it's growing on us.
Generally found in the appreciated shoegazer band Trespassers William, this woman recorded her solo sounds in her basement bedroom (you don't get much more indie than that). Playing simple acoustic guitar, mixed in with some harmonica, percussion, keys, and other instruments like the harp and ukelele, Anne-Lynne is quite a talented artist.
Here music may not be much of a mood upper, but we like her sincerity and pretty voice. She is quite the lyrical poet, so listen to her beautiful collection.
~ New Band Daily

Silber Records have a stable of fine thoroughbreds including Lotte Kestner... You can get Lotte Kestner's download release China Mountain direct from Silber here
The blurb about this project reads: 'Lotte Kestner is the solo project of Anna-Lynne Williams (Trespassers Williams). A cross between White Chalk era PJ Harvey & early Joan Baez, she sings songs that would be equally at home on a beatnik’s record player, a hippy’s 8-track, or some hipster’s iPod. Minimal, sparse, majestic. Guitar & voice tell stories of hope for love & loss of love & the difficult navigations of human relationships.'
I get what the press release is trying to say but actually this stuff is not totally referential, yes there are the obvious folky references but it is different. I get really bored with mediocre acoustic guitar music. I hate the caterwauling and badly strummed out of tune, out of time six and twelve string (the twelve stringed ones are worse) songs that proliferate the Internet and street corners of our world. Come the revolution all the guilty will be lined up against the wall.... Lotte Kestner is safe...
~ Peter Bright, System Culture

I recently have skipped a couple of whispery girl-in-bedroom recordings, for its vagueness and shyness which become weakness, but Lotte Kestner's recording shows full attention, and a care for perfection with the minimal of instruments. Her whispery voice alone has this empty room effect on her voice (on the first track), so this is obviously another bedroom recording with acoustic guitar, but as much attention was given to sparse arrangements, of nothing more than needed, like vocal overdubs, electrified guitar, piano, organ and even some small orchestration somewhere. There's lots of contemplation, lying down on pillow daydreaming on the being, some wishing fors, a recognition in love with a sympathetic understanding (-and the notification of a different practice-), like all the thoughts that come back to you before sleeping before mobilizing oneself before the next day, this is now reorganised in a poet's state, the being which now is art. (The art work on the front cover fits very well !).
Lotte Kestner is in fact the solo project by Anna-Lynne Williams (of Trespassers William), recorded over a year in her bedroom (indeed) with Trespassers' bandmate Matt Brown. She herself played harmonica, keyboards, drums, ukulele and harp. The other instruments come from additional occasional appearances from Jeff Martin (Idaho), Ross Simonini (Trespassers William), and Toby Campbell (Anomie Belle).
~ Gerald Van Waes, Psyche van het folk

Lotte Kestner is the solo project of Anna-Lynne Williams (Tresspassers Williams).  A cross between shoegaze & down-tempo folk, she sings songs that would be equally at home on a beatnik's record player, a hippy's 8-track, or some hipster's iPod.  Minimal, sparse, majestic, beautiful, & not like anything we've ever published in Bad Acid, but utterly deserving!
~ Blotter - The Bad Acid Podcast

That the leader of a shoegaze band from Seattle would change her name from the all-American Anna-Lynne Williams to the Germanic Lotte Kestner for her first solo album is probably a gesture of self-assertion. But it might also hint at a sense of affinity with Old World cabaret songs, with their seriousness of purpose despite lightness of delivery.
Not that her music in the least resembles anything Kurt Weill ever wrote. (And the name is taken from Goethe, whose influence is otherwise also undetectable, for his Lotte was a tragic figure.) She has a lovely, breathy voice, accompanies herself ably and sparingly on acoustic guitar, and only employs a little studio trickery to add a little reverb to her voice or multi-track it. She or one of her three guests ocassionally add the slightest wisps of piano, electric guitar, or harmonica.
From China Mountain the view is not panoramic but rather introspecitve. Though far-ranging sailors and sailing recur (including a cover of Interpol´s ”Leif Erikson”), Kestner spends her time gazing inward and reflecting on love lost and gained. Though it can seem a bit cold on paper, ”At least I know I didn´t waste you” (from "Fainting Spells") is actually a very powerful thing to sing about a lover.
~ Stephen Fruitman, Sonomu

Lotte Kestner is a brand-new project set up by Anna-Lynne Williams (known from Trespassers Williams). “China Mountain” sounds as a quite intimate and very sensitive release.
The style of Lotte Kestner can be easily summarized to the use of an acoustic guitar and her vocals. We’re entering a world of magic ballads, which sounds a bit like the offspring of PJ Harvey and Hindi Zahra. “China Mountain” is a musical voyage on the paths of prosperity and reverie… although there’s a deep feeling of solitude emerging from the lyrics. All lyrics appear to be little stories emerging from the brain and imagination of the artist. The acoustic guitar brings a very intimate mood to the lyrics.
Musically, the compositions reflect grace and beauty. It’s a fully enjoyable experience. Anna-Lynne Williams’ sweet and fragile vocals are accentuating the emotional content of her lyrics. I enjoyed listening to “Compasses”, “Leif Erikson”, “Facc Shape”, “Lula Boat” and the very wafting and intriguing “Fainted Twice”. The last song reminds me a bit to the mysterious atmosphere of the “Twin Peaks”-soundtrack.
In a different, but still intimate style I already enjoyed Sarah June (signed on Silber Records), but this “China Mountain” from Lotte Kestner is worthy of examination as well!
~ Side-Line

Rispetto al tipo di proposte a cui ci ha abituato la Silber, la scoperta della Lotte Kestner è alquanto curiosa. Si tratta del progetto solista di Anna-Lynne Williams, una cantautrice piuttosto classica che sposa chitarra e voce in maniera piuttosto essenziale.
Il suo primo lavoro, 'China Mountain', ci presenta undici pezzi prodotti e suonati interamente da lei, nella sua casetta, con l'aiuto di qualche amico. Il risultato è evidentemente spontaneo, le canzoni della Anna-Lynne si vanno a collocare in una nicchia da cantautrice americana decisamente "tipica", a là Pj Harvey. Bisogna dire che basterà ascoltare un paio di pezzi per confermarne la bravura, iniziando proprio da liriche davvero sentite. Queste son spesso piccole storie di solitudini che si vanno a dispiegare su delicate linee di chitarra, ma che spesso, più che intristire, fanno riflettere, risolvendosi quasi più in una sorta di catarsi.
Il problema principale che ho con 'China Mountain', però, è proprio la mancanza d'intensità negli accompagnamenti, che a parte qualche rara eccezione (tipo Fineline o Fainting Spells), si limitano a far da sottofondo senza interessare granché. La Torrini, per esempio, in 'Fisherman's Woman' aveva risolto il problema affidandosi a bravi chitarristi, qui, ahimé, la stessa cosa non succede con Kestner.
Particolarmente evidente la cosa è nell'unica cover del disco, Leif Erikson degli Interpol, scelta indubbiamente curiosa. Dunque, la versione della Williams avrebbe tutte le carte in regola per superare di gran lunga l'originale, dimostrando oltretutto la chiara limitatezza espressiva della band americana, ma la Anna-Lynne decide di animarla solo nell'ultimo minuto, per il resto facendosi accompagnare da una chitarra acustica che fa quei quattro accordi e, dopo tre minuti, vi stancherà davvero.
Insomma, chi cerca una cantautrice brava, in grado di scrivere canzoni interessanti, troverà in Lotte Kestner pane per i suoi denti; per qualcosa di più coinvolgente, mi sa che dovremmo aspettare un po' di tempo.
~ Damiano Gerli, Kathodik

Lotte Kestner, è l'alter-ego di Anna-Lynne Williams, ovvero l'ammaliante voce femminile apprezzata negli album dei Trespassers William, che sotto tale denominazione ha destinato i suoi lavori solisti. Le sue interpretazioni vellutate e sognanti costituiscono ovviamente il fulcro intorno al quale ruota un cantautorato al femminile delicatissimo ed essenziale, che dei tratti della band conserva soltanto le atmosfere di incantata malinconia, tuttavia calate in un umbratile contesto acustico, costituito da melodie appena accennate e da un cantato tanto intimo e cullante da risultare persino timido nella sua fragile dolcezza.
Su scarne note acustiche, intervallate soltanto da saltuari accenni pianistici o da un'ovattata guitar ambience, a enfatizzare il contesto etereo dell'album, Anna-Lynne spazia tra bisbigli, gorgheggi e vocalizzi che si rincorrono in spirali lucenti, lasciate libere di disegnare arabeschi fluttuanti o, più spesso, intese alla costruzione di vere e proprie ballate, dalle melodie definite e all'interpretazione fortemente sentita, come quelle racchiuse nel suo prezioso debutto solista "China Mountain".
~ Onda Rock

Lotte Kestner ist das Soloprojekt von Anna-Lynne Williams, bekannt als Mitglied der wunderbaren Williams Trespassers. Musikalisch sind die Unterschiede zu deren träumerischen Shoegaze nicht allzu groß. Ein wenig leiser, sozusagen die folkige Variante des Duos aus Seattle. Singer-Songwriter meets Dream-Pop und Lo-Fi. “China Mountain”, das Soloalbum unter dem Namen Lotte Kestner hat zwar schon zwei Jahre auf dem Buckel, macht aber nichts. Da ihre Musik keinen zeitgeistigen Strömungen unterworfen ist spricht nichts dagegen, erst jetzt über die Dame zu schreiben.
Und warum gerade heute? Gestern lag eine Mail von Silber Records in meinem Postfach. Es ist das Label, auf dem nicht nur das Soloalbum von Anna-Lynne Williams erschienen ist, sondern auch weitere schöne Musik aus den Abteilungen Shoegaze, Ambient, Folk und Post-Rock. Das Label erinnerte mich noch einmal an ihr Portfolio und an eine gelaunchte Webzine mit dem Namen QRD. Dort gibt es an die 60 Interviews, vielleicht auch für Musiker interessant, mit Gitarristen jeglichen Coleurs.
~ Schallgrenzen

Se avete mai sentito i Trepassers William, riconoscerete la voce femminile in quella di Lotte Kestner, o meglio conosciuta come Anna-Lynne Williams. Una piacevole sorpresa dopo la notizia di un nuovo album del gruppo. Ora, l’album, viene ristampato dalla Silber Records, ottima casa discografica che crede in progetti di vario genere musicale, ma sempre caratterizzati dalla passione per la musica e dalla ricerca.
La voce la fa da padrona, possiamo definirlo un lavoro acustico emozionale dove gli strumenti sembrano quasi distrarre l’ascoltatore; delicati tocchi di chitarra, un piano che s’intrufola nel momento migliore e tecniche melodiche che impreziosiscono il tappeto vocale della cantante. L’intimità, oltre che nella musica, si può trovare anche nei testi che sono una perfetta trasposizione del sonoro su carta; un  disco di questo tipo avremmo potuto trovarlo sulla Secret Eye, anch’essa attenta al folk.
Perfette e delicate, le tracce, scorrono veloci e senza pause, non ci si annoia ma si resta affascinati dall’arte di Lotte Kestner, capace di riprendere “Leif Erikson” degli Interpol senza rovinarla in nessun modo. “Crush the bird”, “Compasses” e “Face Shape” sono tra le migliori, anche se difficile separare le canzoni dal disco stesso perchè sembra un lavoro unico in diversi piccoli atti.
Artisti così dotati dovrebbero essere pubblicizzati in tutta la rete e tra gli amanti della musica.
~ Velvet Goldmine

Poiché il nome scelto per questo suo debutto solista potrebbe far passare ancor più inosservato un album già deliberatamente distribuito attraverso canali sotterranei, è il caso di svelare subito il mistero intorno a Lotte Kestner, che altri non è se non Anna-Lynne Williams, ovvero l’ammaliante voce femminile apprezzata negli album dei Trespassers William.
Mentre un nuovo lavoro della band è già annunciato entro l’anno in corso, pare proprio che i suoi componenti abbiano inteso concedersi ampia libertà in progetti paralleli, se è vero che dopo il chitarrista Matt Brown con Disinterested adesso è la volta dell’elemento caratterizzante dei Trespassers William a intraprendere un’attività solista.
Il lavoro è ovviamente tutto incentrato sulla voce di Anna-Lynne che, supportata da pochi collaboratori, si cimenta in maniera esplicita con un cantautorato al femminile delicatissimo ed essenziale, che dei tratti della band conserva soltanto le atmosfere di incantata malinconia, qui peraltro calate in un umbratile contesto acustico, costituito da melodie appena accennate e da un cantato tanto intimo e cullante da risultare persino timido nella sua fragile dolcezza.
Su scarne note acustiche, intervallate soltanto da saltuari accenni pianistici o da un’ovattata guitar ambience, ad enfatizzare il contesto etereo dell’album, Anna-Lynne spazia tra bisbigli, gorgheggi e vocalizzi che si rincorrono in spirali lucenti, a tratti specchiantisi nella loro cristallina purezza ma, più spesso, intese alla costruzione di vere e proprie ballate, dalle melodie definite e dall’interpretazione fortemente sentita.
Così avviene nei brani in cui musica e testi si sposano in un unicum toccante, da cui traspare la partecipazione della cantautrice a piccoli mantra vocali dall’immediata presa emotiva e dalla spiccata attitudine armonica. Benché, infatti, l’album non presenti cospicue variazioni lungo i suoi undici brani, canzoni come l’iniziale “Crush The Birds”, “Compasses” e “Cattleya” riescono a restare facilmente impressi per la loro grazia e il fascino che trasuda dalla voce di Anna-Lynne e per l’immagine della fanciulla che con sensibilità tutta muliebre sembra cantare alla luna di solitudini e malie amorose.
È infatti difficile restare indifferenti alla soavità di versi quali “and you know that I’ll wait up/ as if though for my true love/ and you know that I’ll wait up/ did your heart get cold right away” o all’accorata ripetizione di “if the stars stick why can’t I?”, passaggi in grado di catturare, con la semplice autenticità delle loro pronunciate sfumature emotive, più tangibili nei brani dalle strutture meglio definite (oltre a quelli citati, merita una segnalazione la spiazzante cover degli Interpol, “Leif Erikson”). Proprio in questi episodi, l’interpretazione di Anna-Lynne si fa più decisa, rifuggendo con piglio personale tanto gli schemi del cantautorato folk quanto facili emulazioni di artiste del calibro di Liz Fraser o Hope Sandoval, i cui nomi ricorrono in maniera quasi inevitabile quando si ha a che fare con la suadente delicatezza di una voce di valore eccelso tra quelle delle cantanti attualmente in circolazione.
Se la grazia fosse l’unico canone per la valutazione di un’opera, “China Mountain” potrebbe reputarsi un capolavoro assoluto; ma anche così, nonostante le sue poche variazioni, questo lavoro delinea la fisionomia di un’artista dotata di una sensibilità cantautorale che esalta l’unicità della sua voce unica, adesso risplendente in tutta la sua bellezza anche in questo nuovo e diverso contesto solista.
~ Raffaello Russo, Onda Rock