Anamude
Pentimento (2005, KEEP Recordings)(3.7/5)

Pentimento is a nice, pleasant experimental folk album. The vocalist reminds me a good deal of Cat Power and some of the acoustic plucking is rather John Fahey at times. Anamude starts adding more to the mix towards the end of the album. "Faded Things" is the least experimental, most full-sounding track on the album with a healthy dose of 'big' drums and strings. It also lacks vocals which is most welcome as Anamude's voice can become a bit cumbersome about halfway through the album. However, I expect this album to improve with repeated listens. It definitely has a downhome feel to it, that of which I am a huge sucker for. This will definitely appeal to fans of the new Wyrd Folk revolution.

-Beat 4/28/05

Anamude
Urban Comfort (2002, First Flight )(3.9/5)

Urban Comfort is not as experimental in nature and features fewer arrangements/varied song structures than the full-length though it's safe to say both efforts have their above-average moments. The guitar tone all throughout Urban Comfort is incredibly clean and crisp sounding. On the second track, 'Brokedown', Ana builds up tension for 3 minutes before unleashing a nice piece of downtempo bluegrass plucking on us. Also, I mentioned previously that Ana's vocals can become a bit overbearing after a while but this EP clocks in at just about the right-length, so no quibbles there. At times, her voice can become downright precious. See the latter half of 'Urban Comfort #3" for a fine example of this. I can safely recommend this EP to anyone who enjoys the sounds of Jolie Holland/Be Good Tanyas, Victoria Williams or just quiet, contemplative folk music in general.

-Beat 5/9/05