There’s something of a fine line between what makes a song with rich vocals and a cerebral nature either stunning or absolutely tedious. It might be a certain inflection in the voice, or something special about the music – something that either makes it turn out to be Dido-esque emotional vacuum, or an awe-inspiring Scout Niblett.
OUR BROKEN GARDEN (aka Anna Broensted, also of Efterklang) are teetering on this line and they could go either way. The ‘Lost Sailor’ EP, on the whole, is a searing but brooding mix of simple downbeat songs, orchestral and lamenting. She has a good voice – it’s not startling, but she can make beautiful songs that will definitely mesmerise some. ‘Visible To You’ is a stark song, mournful violins accompanying a broken-hearted delivery. It doesn’t go many places, but the tone becomes more desperate towards the end. The emotion is certainly conveyed effectively – there’s feeling in her voice throughout .
By track 4 (‘Lost Sailor’), I guess you’re either being emotionally moved or drifting into a coma. For me it was the point where I stopped giving it my full attention. The voice isn’t enough to detract from how often dull the arrangements supporting it are. It’s ambience without the beats and there isn’t enough variety on here to make it amazing.
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I don’t know whether this is just that I’m a little cold hearted, because it’s all in place, but there is something about these songs that I find just a little too empty. Rooms full of men with beards and their girlfriends will be taken in by these tunes, but I could imagine a full set would drive me to boredom. Watching this live, I would be looking at my watch every few moments. Melancholy is fine, beautiful is great, but there’s only so long you can be slow for. There’s little variation in the mood or the tone, or even the structure of these songs. It’s modest, pretty, emotional music. It’s nice enough, but it doesn’t get me ‘there,’ where-ever ‘there’ is.
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