Going Somewhere?

You can check out Keren's music at www.myspace.com/kerenannYou can also read about her here:http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/artist_profile/keren-ann_profile.htmlAnd here's the Daily OM Music review of "Not Going Anywhere":March 6, 2007Not Going AnywhereKeren Ann 2002"Israeli-born singer-songwriter Keren Ann sings in English instead of French for her lovely third album, Not Going Anywhere. It's a stripped-down cycle of disparaging loveliness, elegantly produced by the artist, with several tracks reprised from her previous album, the all-French La Dispiration. Surprisingly, she sings in an accent-free, pure-as-crystal English, whispering the words with a world-weary resignation that provides haunting antithesis to the emotional content of the songs. With lyrics as forlorn as "Sitting out alone along the bay / And I'm not going anywhere / People come and go and walk away / And I'm not going anywhere" sung over delicately picked acoustic guitar and a violin interlude, this could have been a "poor me" crying fest, but Ann's too well-traveled to make one think that all she needs is a boyfriend. She conveys the elegant ennui of that beautiful creature you fell in love with years ago but could not save. "Road Bin" shuffles from high vocals alternating with doo-doo-doos, as she sings "Will you love me 'til you're bones? / Will we always have to hide away in a road bin full of stones?" Tough moments of bluesy electric guitar and strings offset Ann's letter-perfect acoustic guitar finger-picking technique. Elsewhere there's a swooping carnival mood on "End of May," and Vince Guaraldi-ish piano, surf samples, and orchestra bridge on the lovely "Right Now & Right Here" which starts out crushed against the wall but drifts out on a hopeful blend of children's chorus and harpsichord.For fans of first rate singer-songwriters who find a lot of the adult contemporary music out there to be a tad overproduced and slick, Not Going Anywhere should come as a pure delight. Here are songs that assuredly set out in new directions and melt the heart without being sappy or overly familiar. No reliance on familiar ballad or blues structures here; Keren Ann writes with the assurance of a master like Randy Newman or Carole King, but also with the wistful sadness of a gamin who is perhaps a bit too young and beautiful to comfortably shoulder so much worldly sorrow. These tracks aren't afraid to bust out a twangy slide guitar or staccato rap, but they don't need to. In any language, Keren Ann is the sort of talent that one discovers and then guards like a secret treasure. "