Keren Ann‘s infectious ‘My Name Is Trouble‘ earns itself top billing on the half-Israeli, half-Dutch singer songwriter’s 2011 album ‘101‘. This is Ann’s sixth studio album, and after a decade long career sprinkled liberally with collaborations, the Paris/New York/Tel Aviv based 37 year old looks set for commercial success, building on a well deserved and time served cult status.
‘My Name Is Trouble’ is an unconventional pop song in that it does not have a sing-along chorus. In fact, the song is completely bereft of what you or I would traditionally recognise as a chorus. Instead, Ann cleverly weaves between verse, building sections, and a smartly placed breakdown. This technique gives Ann room to develop a climax-less melody and allows the song to pivot on both her delicate vocals and a foot tappingly moreish hook formed from chipper interplay between synth and bass line.
The breakdown section perhaps displays Ann’s effortless talent for measured tunefulness even more so than the meat of the song itself. In the breakdown, Ann introduces soft piano and a well paced synth riff. Here, fragile vocals are weighted to the airy music such that syllables waltz towards and away from the beat, creating a heart breaking lullaby effect.
‘My Name Is Trouble’ has groove to spare throughout its four plus minutes, and it is perhaps this unexpected unique marriage between the song’s catchy temperament and a frail yet crisp vocal that makes for a winning formula. Whatever the case, Keren Ann’s music is deserving of greater exposure and should soon see an explosion in fan base.
(Ben Atherton)