Like so many quiet records, this sounds better at a high volume and it's an album that improves with each hearing.
Awna Teixeira has previously been one quarter of Canadian roots band Po' Girl. This is her second full length solo album following on from Where The Darkness Goes from 2012.
Most of the eleven songs were written in Salt Lake City, Utah but recorded in her home town of Toronto. The studio is close to where she used to go shopping with her grandmother, a fact that is not particularly exciting in itself but a reflection of the warm homeliness of this album. Blue Heart On Your Sleeve, for instance, was written for her grandmother's life long struggle with mental illness.
Aside from singing, Teixeira is a talented multi-instrumentalist and here the instruments she plays include pump organ, banjo, ukulele, piano and whistles. She also employs a small select group of guest musicians and Oh Susanna accompanies her on harmony vocals.
There's a prayer like quality to the lyrics; so its no surprise to learn that some words to In The Wintertime come from the First Nations Proverbs; this track is dedicated to the memory of her late friend Vincent James Howe.
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The eleven songs are mostly measured, subdued and reflective; wintry in tone yet full of the hope for the coming Spring. They are the kind of tunes more suited to the intimacy of a small folk club than the relative anonymity of a medium to large sized venue.
Teixeira does occasionally strike a more strident note, notably on Bees And Things and A Sailor's Dream. A couple more upbeat songs like this would have given the album a greater range and balance.
As it is, this is the kind of delicate, understated record that will too easily pass unnoticed but it should stand as proof of the old adage that it is the quiet ones you have to watch out for.
Awna Teixeira's website
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