Album Review: Anna B Savage, You & i are Earth

Anna B Savage splendidly glides onto her third album amid a wash of waves, snatches of faraway conversation, delicately strummed acoustic, and an almost hushed vocal on the inviting ‘Talk To Me’. The aquatic theme continues on the figurative ‘Lighthouse’, and by then, the listener is well-rooted in Savage’s vividly conjured world.

It's a creation centered around the galloping ‘Donegal’, the land of Tyrconnell where the London native regularly lays her head, between bouts of recent touring with The Staves and St. Vincent. The county and one of its sons appear to have won Savage’s heart, despite her mother’s pleas. It's the setting for the plot of immigrants falling in love with Ireland – the country's flesh and blood denizens, as well as its fantasy, poetry and folklore.

That adoration is also marvellously captured on ‘Mo Cheol Thú’, which evokes the mood of being smitten, amid the sound of starlings, the call of the cuckoo and the scent of roses. Lead single ‘Agnes’, meanwhile, expands upon the album’s metaphysical theme. Through a breathless flurry of sound and real-world therapy, Savage delves into the deep, dark transformative woods.

Anna Mieke proves the finest of collaborators here, providing the voice of the otherworldly title character. Elsewhere, there are appearances from Kate Ellis and Caimin Gilmore of Crash Ensemble, as well as Lankum's Cormac MacDiarmada, while John ‘Spud’ Murphy does a fine job in the producer's chair. A stellar effort.

8/10

Out now