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Anna Calvi (album)

Anna Calvi
Anna-Calvi-2.jpg
Studio album by Anna Calvi
Released 14 January 2011
Recorded Autumn 2010
Genre Art rock
Length 39:17
Label Domino
Producer Rob Ellis, Anna Calvi
Anna Calvi chronology
Anna Calvi
(2011)
One Breath
(2013)
Singles from Anna Calvi
  1. "Blackout"
    Released: 21 March 2011
  2. "Desire"
    Released: 20 June 2011
  3. "Suzanne & I"
    Released: 12 September 2011
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars
BBC Music favourable
Contactmusic favourable
The Fly 4/5 stars
Independent on Sunday 10/10 stars
New Musical Express 9/10 stars
Q 3/5 stars
The Observer favourable
Rave 4/5 stars
Classic Rock 8/10 stars

Anna Calvi is the eponymous debut album of British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, released on 14 January 2011, by Domino Records. In Autumn, 2010, Calvi entered Black Box studio in France with producer Rob Ellis and, using vintage analogue equipment, created "a velvet Wall of Sound that justified the hype in the buildup to its 2011 release." The album peaked at No. 40 in the UK Album Charts reached No. 17 in France, and entered several European charts. The album has been nominated for the 2011 Barclaycard Mercury Prize.

The debut album's material had been written in Anna Calvi's parents' attic, using eight-track equipment. Of Rob Ellis, best known for his work with PJ Harvey, she said:

He’s old-school rock‘n roll… you know, 'Hit the drums harder!' Which I love. We both share a love of classical music...he loves the same composers as I do. So I didn’t have to explain what I meant when I said that I wanted I wanted a guitar or a shaker to sound like an orchestra. It was great to find someone who understood.

Calvi herself said she was proud with the album and picked out two songs where she felt she'd got close to what she ultimately wanted to achieve: "Love Won’t Be Leaving" (noted for microscopic sound detailisation) and "The Devil". "I see music very visually. And I want the music itself to express the story as much, if not more, than the lyrics. I think I achieved that on Love Won’t Be Leaving," she commented on the former. As for the latter, "It’s a good example of how I wanted to make the guitar sound like another instrument. I wanted the middle-section to sound like the strings on a Hitchcock soundtrack. It crescendos towards an explosion, but in a real and honest way. It's not about bravado," she added.

"Blackout" (with the cover of an Elvis Presley song 'Surrender' on the b-side) was released as the first single from the album on 21 March 2011 and was debuted on Pitchfork in the US. "Desire" was the second single (backed with a reworking of Leonard Cohen's "Joan Of Arc") and was released on 20 June 2011. The track was available on 7" (RUG412) and via digital download (RUG412D). "Suzanne & I" (backed with the cover of the Shirelles "Baby It's You") was released as the third single from the album on 12 September 2011.


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