Ane Brun: Songs 2003-2013

Norwegian-born, Sweden-based songstress Ane Brun has built up an impressive body of work since her 2003 debut. It’s all very comprehensively captured in this 32-track retrospective double-disc collection.
Given the title of the album, it covers pretty much all of the highlights of her career to date with several reworkings and a handful of live songs to add to the intrigue. Of her own tracks, an early highlight includes ‘Humming One Of Your Songs’, whilst the lovely ‘Changing Of The Seasons’ and the charming ‘The Treehouse Song’ both showcase her understated but powerful singing voice. The atmospheric, tension-filled ‘My Lover Will Go’ is another standout, the shimmering strings and acoustic guitar perfectly complementing her voice. Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith guests on ‘Song No 6’.
But it’s her cover versions which are among Brun’s most inspired work: her impassioned reading of the oft-covered Cyndi Lauper song ‘True Colours’ is near definitive, while her take on Arcade Fire’s ‘Neighborhood #1’ is equally creative. Arguably her most acclaimed collaboration, though, is her duet with Peter Gabriel on ‘Don’t Give Up’ from his recent orchestral album, and it’s rightly included here. Live renditions of ‘My Star’, ‘The Dancer’ and ‘The Fall’ also demonstrate her live prowess. For good measure, the collection ends with a sublime, stripped-down version of the Nina Simone classic, ‘Feeling Good’.

Key Track: ‘True Colours’
Rating: 6/10