ANNA LING – Light (own label)

Mythopoetic neo-choral alt-folk is how Devon based singer and songwriter Anna Ling describes her music. An intriguing description, and if you want to find out what it might sound like, listening to Anna’s debut album, Light, is a good way to start.

This year, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing very impressive debut albums by some very talented young women. There has been Liz Overs, Clementine Lovell, and I’m now delighted to add Anna Ling to this list. Liz’s work is rooted in the folklore and history of her native Sussex, Clementine’s focuses of real-life stories from her family and others she has known. Anna is different again, dealing with huge subjects encompassing science, metaphysics and the story of the universe. That might sound daunting, but Anna succeeds in linking them to everyday life and locating the experiences of ordinary people within this grand subject matter. In doing so, she has produced some of the most intelligent and complex lyrics I’ve heard in a long time.

Light is very much a contemporary, alt-folk album. The alternative element is central to Anna’s music, bringing a willingness to go beyond the confines of any genre and draw a range of styles and traditions – Anna studied ethnomusicology at university. The choral element is a distinctive feature throughout, and comes from Anna’s experience as a community choir leader. The result is a distinctive sound rooted in, but not confined to contemporary folk, with layered vocal harmonies and lush instrumental arrangements complimenting Anna’s expressive vocals.

‘Inevitable’ is the first track, and it helps set the tone of what is to come. The lyrics place the emotions of two lovers amid the scientific certainties of the Universe. The track opens with unaccompanied mouth music, and choral voices are prominent, along with violin, cello, and clarinet. A gentle tune, with a touch of mystery.

‘Untrimmable Light’ has a beautiful, dreamy tune, with a double bass adding a jazzy vibe and sound effects that evoke walking on the seashore. Again, two lovers are placed within the Universe, with lyrics seeming to hint at the unity of the Universe and oneness with nature. These themes continue on ‘Nothing is Lost,’ where the characters allegorically become parts of the Universe; “I am a planet I move round the Sun, You are the Moon, we’ve been moving in circles so long.” This is another good tune, livelier and with some good mandolin playing.

‘Butterfly’ has a floaty and delicate tune, befitting of its subject, a butterfly that landed on Anna with its wings stuck, as if asking for help. Freeing the wings and seeing it fly away gave Anna a deep and emotional sense of connection and oneness with nature. A very moving song.

‘BTTFL’ is the shortest, and lyrically simplest track, but it lives up to its title (no reason is given for the absence of vowels). The track consists of a short, four part acapella harmony, sung twice with a musical sequence in between. The lyrics are bittersweet, telling of beauty but also endings as change happens. The haunting tune is influenced by Gnawa, a genre that mixes Moroccan and East African melodies, and is played on unusual instruments including the qraqeb, that provides percussion here.

The title of the next track, ‘Limerence,’ relates to the powerful infatuation created by new relationships. The song has a trance like intensity at times, conveying feelings of ecstasy and of falling freely into a vastness. Again, human experience – in this case physical love – is merged into the Universe; “I am the earth, I am my birth, I am blood and grit.” There are also references to feelings of holiness, and not for the only time the lyrics might suggest a pantheistic worldview, with the Universe and nature as divine.

A clarinet solo, with a hint of exotic mystery opens ‘Ochan,’ a song for the Yoruba Goddess of water, love, and fertility. There is an appropriately African feel to this track, with the guitar sounding like a kora at times. The words of the chorus are from an old Yoruba dialect, which has survived in South America, after so many East Africans were forced into slavery in the Americas.

‘The Moon’ is a cheerfully reflective song, but with hints toward environmental crises. The lyrics tell of the evolution of life as it moved from the sea onto land. Again, this is not a remote process but personal and part of our story.

Daughter of Sea
Grandmother to me
Did you yearn for the land?
What old song drew you up from the deep?
Where can we go?

That last line seems to address the possible need to move on again if our home no longer sustains us. Throughout Light Anna rings the changes in instrumentation and a trumpet solo features here.

Hospital visitors await news of a loved one in ‘Sun To The Bird.’ Once more, this everyday scene links with science and the Universe; “Come trouble teach me trust, 13 million light years of dust won’t end with us.” This is another beautiful tune, evoking a bittersweet melancholy, helped by some expressive clarinet playing.

Endings, particularly relationship break-ups, are at the centre of the final track, ‘The Promise Of Light.’ But as the title suggests, there is also hope of new beginnings, seen in the imagery of winter ending and snow drops emerging. There is also stark imagery of a bird tangled in plastic and an aerial, hanging cruciform like Jesus Christ. Is the bird suffering for the environmental sins of humanity, or am I overthinking? If I am, that’s an easy thing to do when listening to an album as deep and thoughtful as Light.

This is an ambitious and impressive debut. The huge themes addressed in the lyrics might put some off, but I think that the way Anna links them to everyday life makes them surprisingly relatable. And even if you don’t agree with me on that, Light is still very good listening due to the quality of the music. Richly layered compositions are beautifully performed by Anna and a very talented supporting cast of musicians. They’re all good, but I think that the splendidly named Isis Wolf Light, on clarinet, deserves a special mention. In conclusion, this is an album that can be enjoyed on several levels, and if it gets more people to think about our place in the Universe, so much the better.

Graham Brown

Artist website: https://www,annaling.co.uk

‘Inevitable’ – live in the woods:

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