Better known as one of the Wailin’ Jennys (she was part of the group for the excellent ‘Firecracker’ album), Annabelle is one of Canada’s most independent and versatile instrumentalists and songwriters.
Resilience is an album that has elements of traditional music in its lyrics and instrumentation, but it also flirts with acoustic pop in its melodies, arrangements and the delivery of the songs; its ground that has been covered before, but rarely with as much élan and confidence as Chvostek.
This is a warm, at times reflective album that that deals with both contemporary and age old stories, the title track is an ultimately upbeat lyric about personal strength in people, ‘The Sioux’ a trad. influenced song that addresses colonial occupation, and ‘Driving Away’, a collaboration with Bruce Cockburn that also addresses the theme of resilience.
The presence of Cockbrun, alongside other guests including Mary Gauthier, Julie Wolf and Michael Jerome Browne all add variety and depth to the 12 tracks.
Mixing her own songs with both traditional and modern influences makes this a memorable disc that manages to find the perfect balance between contemporary and roots – innovative production, a beautiful voice and strong songs make this an excellent album.
Track listing
1 Resilience
2 Seven Years
3 Runaway Lane
4 Wait for It
5 Piece of You
6 Racing with the Sun
7 The Sioux
8 Driving Away
9 I Left My Brain
10 Firewalker
11 Line of Ascent
12 Nashville
BONUS
13 Resilience video (PC or Mac)
