Amplifier – reviewed by Larry O. Dean

With a hard-boiled writer’s sense of economy, Anny Celsi pulls you into the disturbing scenarios of thwarted romance, peopled by the usual suspects with fickle hearts and fatal flaws.  Musically, Little Black Dress is mighty swell, too; low-key and subdued, with banjo, accordion, organ, vibes, mandolin and harmonica used sparingly but smartly atop guitar, bass and drum arrangements that deftly blend jazz, rock, pop and country influences into an unpretentious hybrid.  Celsi’s cover of Translator’s underrated anthem “No Time Like Now” is boffo also, with author Steve Barton on guitar and vocals on it as well as other tracks.