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HARP - reviewed by Adrian Zupp "Guitar-slingin'
singer-songwriter Anny Celsi is a Cali girl with plenty of sass. With a
voice that triangulates Christine McVie, Natalie Merchant and Susana Hoffs -
though without their force -- and songwriting nous to to spare, she cuts a
pretty fair disc with "Little Black Dress." Her country-tinged ballads ("Twas
Her Hunger Brought Me Down") and hooky retro-pop ("Little Black Dress," "Summer
Fling") dovetail well with more jazz-inflected fare ("All I'm Gonna Say"),
fuel-injected folk ("So Many Bad Dreams") and up-tempo country-rock ("He's
Always Looking At The Sky," "No Time Like Now"). And spunky lyrics like
"Every girl deserves a nervous breakdown" (from the swinger "Empty Hangers")
don't hurt either. There isn't a weak track in the set, which is no small
achievement. But "Little Black Dress" is proficient rather than
ground-breaking. It may not bring down the Jericho walls of the music
business, but it's well worth a listen." |