SOULFUL, REFRESHING POP FROM ANNYLAND

by Natalie Nichols, BAM

Anny Celsi hasn't been around the LA scene quite as long as the Ringling Sisters, but she's no newcomer; a few years ago, she was a part of a too-cute garage-pop ensemble known as the Tearjerkers. Celsi recently sent a three-song advance CD by her new group, Annyland, which offers a more substantial sound, but still in a polished, '60s-pop-like vein.

Celsi's soulful, slightly seductive voice has a fine partner in the impeccable lead guitar work of Bruce "Riffmonstre" Kaplan; while "She Walks In" is a twangy, Byrds/Michael Nesmith-style folk-rocker, the power-pop number "Undercover of the Rain" hints at a blue undercurrent that gets a workout on the standout track, "Drag the River." This smoky, bluesy, acoustic-guitar-accented ballad is an end-of-relationship dirge with a twist: it's about jettisoning memories - and not ones own life - after love is lost. Refreshing stuff, and just the kind of liberated thinking you'd expect from a woman brave enough to name a band after herself.