• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Vinyl Chapters

Vinyl Chapters

The Stories Behind The Music

  • Home
  • About
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • News
  • Submit
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Cart
Home » articles » Anaïs Mitchell: Anaïs Mitchell – Review

Anaïs Mitchell: Anaïs Mitchell – Review

January 28, 2022 by Caillou Pettis

Anais Mitchell

With eight full-length albums now under her belt, you’d think that Anaïs Mitchell would show signs of slowing down. Gratefully, that’s not the case. 

Okay, so I may be a little bit late to the Anaïs Mitchell party. And when I mean “a little late”, I mean I didn’t actually discover her music until 2021 thanks to her three features on Big Red Machine’s album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? 

I was absolutely swept away by her beautiful and emotionally-charged vocals on the album’s opener Latter Days, and especially on Phoenix, while New Auburn served as a sweeping closer for the album. While listening to those songs for the first time ever, I found myself questioning in my head “How have I never heard of this person before?”. 

Anais Mitchell

But I’m just glad I discovered her when I did because ever since that album, I’ve gone ahead and listened to nearly all of her work and it’s safe to say that I’m now a mega fan. Her voice is truly one of a kind and there is no other artist out there who is even remotely similar to Mitchell. Not only is her voice distinctive and instantly recognizable for me now, but her lyrical content is superb. 

These are all reasons why I was beyond excited for her self-titled eighth studio album. Now that I’ve listened to it in its entirety, I can happily report that it’s definitely one of her best to this day. 

The album kicks off beautifully with Brooklyn Bridge, an ominous yet incredibly soothing indie folk track featuring a quiet yet methodical piano backing instrumental serving as the stunning backdrop for Mitchell’s vocals as she sings “Over Brooklyn Bridge in a taxi / Over Brooklyn Bridge / You and me in the backseat / Finally got you by my side / Riding high at the end of the night”. 

It’s so amazing just how smooth of a transition this is to the second track Bright Star, which features a similar instrumental, although this one is noticeably more optimistic instead of the longing, gloomy one from the previous track. But where things get truly interesting is with track three, Revenant, which is without a doubt one of my favorites on the album. 

This one actually kind of reminds me of something you’d hear from the aforementioned Big Red Machine, so that’s obviously a win for me. Not only does it feature an unbelievably soothing acoustic guitar backing, it also contains some of the strongest lyrical content on the album. 

“In a box under the stairs / Found a lock of a child’s hair / Suddenly I saw you there / Runny-eyed in a wooden chair / Ran outside to hide your face / In the wild Queen Anne’s lace / Green and wide around your waist / Waving in the wind”, Mitchell ponders in one of the album’s best verses.

Backroads is another excellent track that allows Mitchell to fully flex her vocal capabilities and push them to the limit. It’s also nice because this is easily one of the catchiest songs on the album. I know for sure that “Daredevil on a joyride / Thought you were a rebel of some kind / Angels watching over all the time / Didn’t even know / Backroads” is going to be a verse that’s stuck in my head for countless hours. But I won’t complain. 

And really, there’s not much to complain about with this album as a whole. I mean, the only thing that I wish was different when it comes to this album is the running time. I wouldn’t have complained had this album been twice as long. Mitchell hasn’t released a solo studio album in ten years, and boy what a comeback this is. 

After getting super into her work, I have to say that I think my dream collaboration would be with Taylor Swift and Anaïs Mitchell. So, Miss Swift, if you ever plan on completing that Folklore/Evermore trilogy, there’s an indie singer I think many fans would love to hear be a part of it. Her name is Anaïs Mitchell. 

Score: 4.5/5

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Review

About Caillou Pettis

Caillou Pettis has been an avid music lover ever since his youth. For him, discovering new music is always a delight.

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Search

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required

Recent Posts

Charlie Puth

Charlie Puth: Charlie – Review

Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris: Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 – Review

JP Hoe

New Music Fridays – 5th August 2022

Footer

Navigation

Home

About

Reviews

Features

News

Submit

Contact Us

Shop

Search

Recent Posts

  • Taylor Swift: Midnights – Album Review
  • Charlie Puth: Charlie – Review
  • Calvin Harris: Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 – Review
  • New Music Fridays – 5th August 2022
  • Hayley Kiyoko: Panorama – Review

Social Media

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Affiliate Disclosure

Vinyl Chapters is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. In doing so, this helps us continue providing free content. It does not increase the price for you in any way.

Copyright © 2023 Vinyl Chapters | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Editorial Team