While Annie Hart is usually mentioned in connection with her previous band (Au Revoir Simone), the singer's new record ought to see her stand on her terms. The Weight of a Wave, out this week, is spry electro-pop. The tunes here are smart, and wonderfully realized, and the whole thing surprised me a bit.
Opener "Boy You Got Me" is sleek and catchy, a snatch of O.M.D. anchoring this one, while "What Makes Me Me" is more down-tempo. The hook here is quietly insistent, and Hart does a lot by not overdoing this one. The trappings of most of The Weight of a Wave owe a lot to the textures of Eighties New Wave, but, wisely, Annie keeps thing moving with a natural momentum, and the style is never too overdone. Things reach a kind of peak on the wonderful "Nothing Makes Me Happy Anymore", a real highlight of this record for me. This number has a New Order-ish sense of drama, enough that it stands apart from the rest of the record in its stark beauty.
Annie Hart is creating her own music here, and there's little that links this with that of Au Revoir Simone. There's a real sense of progression here, and this may be Annie's best set of music to date. The Weight of a Wave shows that there's still life left yet in the New Wave forms that many appropriate, but few are able to claim as their own.
The Weight of a Wave by Annie Hart is out on Friday. Details on Bandcamp (it's Bandcamp Friday too).
[Photo: Sebastian Kim]