Annie Keating is worldly enough not to dwell on what, in Keepsakes And Heartbreaks, she calls “hard luck memories.”
Her down to earth philosophy when it comes to loving relationships that have run their course is summed up in Sunshine Parade: “I won’t cry no tears for you / I got too much good living to do.”
The ten new songs of love and loss on ‘Hard Frost’ are evidence that she still has faith in affairs of the heart despite seemingly having had more than her fair share of setbacks. These are Wintry story-songs rather than Summery ballads.
Then again. if all these songs are autobiographical, then it’s a wonder she has time to turn the experiences into music. For instance, Wrong Guy’s Girl contains a travelogue of real (or imagined) trysts ranging from the Highlands of Scotland to the Islands of Greece.
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Whatever the veracity of the actual experiences, the electrified Americana lend the tunes a swagger and punch that feels totally authentic. The raw emotion of Lovesick Blues certainly sounds genuine.
A heartrending makeover of The Police’s So Lonely claims the song as her own to end the album on an impassioned high.
Annie Keating’s website
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