ANAMAI - Sallows

ANAMAI’s ethereal sounds on Sallows take getting used to but once you’re in you wonder if you’ve been missing out. Sallows is subtle, even sallow, but paleness isn’t always a bad thing. It can be beautiful.

The record is so different to what I’m used to, without strong guitar or drum sounds, that it makes it hard to cling on to something, but maybe that’s the point. You can listen to Sallows and float away on a carefree sea.

Canadian artist Anna Mayberry’s label, Buzz Records, says: “Her brand of gnostic folk is like a distorted astral projection of what came before it, linked to but not limited by its roots.” While I wouldn’t know what gnostic means if I hadn’t just looked it up (Wikipedia says: “Gnosticism describes a collection of ancient religions whose adherents shunned the material world.") I get where they’re coming from. It’s spiritual and stripped-back.

Sallows has its foreboding parts, but it’s sensual too. You could definitely get down to its soothing tones. Anna, who grew up in a ‘folk community’, says her favourite track on the album is 'Otolith', which offers an optimistic sparkle that’s more hidden elsewhere on the record.