What can we tell you about Anna Tivel that we haven’t mentioned before? Well, until the full album review arrives I guess we could just mention that ‘Living Thing‘ shows Anna Tivel expanding her sonic repertoire, bringing in new melodic and rhythmic patterns – there’s a hint of electronica around ‘Desperation‘. But, you know what, under the new layers of sound there’s a continuation of Anna Tivel’s remarkable songwriting, stories that connect, emotions that seem familiar. And, man, that’s all it’s really about, you know? You do, you’re cool.
‘Desperation’ is less about internal emotional turmoil but a weariness at the sometimes crushing unfairness of life: “Real life is far from fair, you tried and tried and got nowhere / It’s like somebody rigged the whole damn thing / Bloody knuckles, empty hands, you want to fight, but all you ever had / Is desperation.” But, maybe, there’s a hint that there are ways to overcome – or at least come to terms – without sacrificing oneself, desperation doesn’t have to lead to desperate acts.
