KARNEY – Better

A K Karney Music 2020

KARNEY –
Better

Sometimes growing so tired, American songstress stresses her optimism in the time of turmoil.

Anna Karney can be uncompromising – as illustrated by her 2018 full-length offering "No Mercy" – but the San Fransican wouldn’t allow such a stance to define what she does, and this mini-album is a testament to the artist’s desire to embrace hope no matter how difficult seeing the light might seem. That’s why there’s no personal-insecurity-related randomness to her choice of somewhat familiar material that complements new songs, a manic remix of “Snake Oil Salesman” from 2012’s “Love & Respect” reflecting on political affairs and a faithful take on ZEPPELIN’s “Ramble On” referring to “the darkest depths of Mordor”: they simply add texture and contrast to the rest of the numbers.

As the record’s title track marries insistence to expectancy and chases away worries, Karney’s vocals produce steel from velvet and drive the chorus into the listener’s psyche, where the piece’s riff-fueled, funky dance of solemn tension is manifested to the fullest, to become a demand for positive change to happen here and now, while the sparkling balladry of “Trust” carries such sincere message to spiritual heights. Ignore the playful uplift behind “Round And Round” at your own risk, though, because its irresistibly exquisite fairground pull won’t hide the gloom surrounding Anna’s luminous prophesies, yet light and darkness always go hand in hand, so yes, we’re bound to feel better – if we work towards this mindset.

****

February 16, 2020

Category(s): Reviews
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