Anaïs Mitchell - Hymns For The Exiled
(Righteous Babe)
http://www.anaismitchell.com

Taking the best of influences such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Woody Guthrie, Anaïs Mitchell successfully blends lyrical depth and melodic simplicity to create songs with awisdom beyond her tender age of 25. Hymns For The Exiled offers a thoughtful glimpse into the undercurrent tragedies in her native United States. Mitchell, a name that brings to mind a certain Canadian legend with similar airs of nostalgia and lament, weaves in guitar and an angelic voice to bring back folk in its purest form: soulful and haunting. And she achieves heart-tearing depth even with a voice full of childlike innocence. But then again, Dylan and the like were around the same age when they made their art.

This Mitchell is especially reminiscent of the other one on opening track Before The Eyes Of Storytelling Girls. “I could tell you stories / like a government tells lies”, it begins, and the protest and frustration are poignant not only in themselves, but because it sounds like a child is crying these words out. The young American also calls to mind Jewel at her most organic (before all the Intuition bit), with her voice acting as melodic roller coaster between heartbroken and protesting. Hymns For The Exiled is a gem-filled album that offers a welcome departure from the homogenous lyrics and sounds currently drowning this specific market.

Christina Cromeyer Dieke