Anne Steele – What’s Mine
Anne Steele – What’s Mine – EP Review
Don’t get me wrong, weather-wise it would have been a bright & sunny day here in BC no matter what was coming through our speakers today…it’s one of our rare April days without rain it would seem; but I’ll absolutely make the case for the sunshine finding its way under the roof here at sleepingbagstudios, all courtesy of Anne Steele. With a beautiful range of emotions on display throughout the What’s Mine EP, this pop/rock sensation puts heart, passion and empowerment into her music in tremendously inspirational ways.
Though this is our first experience with Anne’s music here at our site, she’s already had a previous album released, Strings Attached, which I would assume provided her with the confirmation of her place in music…the one which this energetic artist certainly deserves. She radiates beauty, her voice is spot-on every single time, and her song-writing is a complete ten; my experience listening to the What’s Mine EP revealed a confident veteran of the music-scene…one that is clearly embracing her time in the spotlight and giving every piece of her soul to her craft.
And to whom whoever is holding that spotlight…please make sure it’s firmly affixed to this superstar. Coming out confidently and shining brightly in tone & melody, “What’s Mine” begins our experience into the music of Anne Steele and immediately confirms all the reasoning behind why she’s won awards in the past for song-writing. She clearly owns her relationship with music and with the microphone…to me, she sounds like someone who has clearly spent her time dealing with the bullshit in life and finally said ‘enough is enough,’ making every conscious effort to push her art and music forward and take shit no more from anyone. This energetic pop-tune sparkles and starts this EP with a gorgeous energy to get it going and get us all excited for the songs to come.
Big fan of the track to follow as well, “Worst I Ever Had,” but…SPOILER ALERT…I like them all. She’s not going to miss even once on these six tunes that make up What’s Mine; looking at it from production to performance, I wouldn’t change a single damn thing. What do they call that again?
Right. Flawless…I believe that’s the word I’m looking for.
What I’ll fully admit I haven’t been able to fully track down…is whether or not she’s in this DIY or with a full team of ace-musicians. Whatever the case may be – she’s absolutely got the right combination working for her, again, I wouldn’t change a thing, wouldn’t change a player, wouldn’t change the mix – nothing. Love it.
Where was I…right…”Worst I Ever Had…” This is definitely the more rock-side of Anne coming out early to bring up the energy even more and also display the versatility within her style & sound. Great ideas on this song, and Anne is just fabulous in the chorus – she hits those final lines just perfectly with full, solid-tones and radiating confidence.
She should be, these songs are brilliantly written. Listen to how MAD Katy Perry is that she DIDN’T write or receive “Tough” before Anne did! Seriously…if you put your ear to the speakers just right you can actually hear how mad she is somewhere out there around the world. Her loss is certainly Anne’s gain here – and the point completely is that if you’re a fan of Katy’s massive sounds and pop/rock anthems – there’s no reason at all you wouldn’t love what Anne’s up to on “Tough.” Excellent beat keeping this song on the rails fully; this song just continually expands and expands on itself until it’s in full-on party mode by the middle to the end. Fantastic energy from Anne all the way throughout this song and the entire EP…she’ll make you an instant believer on any of these songs.
So why not switch up the atmosphere once more to highlight another aspect of her dimensions in sound? Hitting up the piano for some gorgeous notes, the synth/drum combination and her voice make “Without You Tonight” yet another winner here on What’s Mine. Truly…Katy can retire if Anne is going to come out as strongly as this each time and find that second, even stronger gear as each song plays through. This lady sings with 100% confidence from the opening bars of any of these tunes, and completely breaks the measurements by the time any chorus hits exploding with neon-melodies and flawless tones that soar to incredible heights. What an incredible singer! Anne has a true gift and the chorus of “Without You Tonight” sends it right from the speakers and into your ears & hearts.
With the shortest tune coming in second to last, she packs in maximum melody into this heartfelt song. It might drift a little too far towards the soft-rock category for it to be my absolute favourite on the EP, but her performance is another noteworthy one and a standout for her lyrically. Keeping the strength up right until the end, the final song “Don’t Tell Us How To Love” starts out with a powerhouse statement and follows it up with conviction and empowering lyrics. A true song for the underdogs; the chorus on this final cut is MASSIVE – any time that Anne wants to bring an entire stadium’s capacity into her anthems, she seems to be able to through sheer will, determination, skill and genuine song-writing.
I really feel, dear readers, that we’re hearing the beautiful voice of a fantastic lady who has been in the shadows for far too long. That time spent wasted doubting her talents should be long fading away now – this is the sound of a confident & extremely capable artist that could easily take over your airwaves at any given moment.
Support Anne Steele and check out her official page right here: www.annesteele.com
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