Frances Ancheta – Saving Graces

Frances Ancheta – Saving Graces – Album Review

Heck yeah Frances, I’m into it.

As I started up Ancheta’s new album Saving Graces with the song “In My Time Of Need,” it only took hearing her voice for the first time to know that I’d enjoy an album like this.  For real – she sounds fantastic!  The band she’s put together is pretty decent too if you ask me.  You’ll actually be introduced to her lead guitar player Mr. Sushi first as the song kicks into gear, then you’ll likely notice the rumble of the rhythm section with Mjoy on bass & Peter De Haas on drums right afterwards.  Together they form the foundation of the music on this record with Frances also playing acoustic, and they establish a quick pace and thrilling sound on “In My Time Of Need.”  All they needed to put it all over the top was an all-star on the microphone, and you’ll hear that in Frances not too long after the music starts in this first impression of her fourth record.  Aside from the production itself feeling a little stifled and closed in, which could very well be the compression algorithms of YouTube where I’ve been listening to her music, I’ve got nothing but great things to say.  “In My Time Of Need” is an exceptional gateway tune that had me paying full attention from the very first moments to the last, and interested in everything to follow.

Yeah…this is quality songwriting and stellar execution.  Confirmation comes quickly with “The Place Where I Need To Be,” which might actually be more enticing to me than the opening track was, so you already know how I feel about this tune.  It’s kind of a perfect example of how, no matter how many millions upon millions of songs have been written throughout history, the same ingredients of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals can still fascinate us when combined in precisely the right way.  No bells and whistles are required when you sound THIS good.  As I’ve said so many times on these pages of ours, just do right by the songs you write – give’em what they need, and be careful not to give’em an ounce more than that.  “The Place Where I Need To Be” is a highlight example of paying close attention to what the song itself is asking for, and how that’s the most effective route to getting the maximum results outta everything you choose to include.  At the heart of this second song is a phenomenal melody sung by Fraces…like…it has a truly inspired chorus that’ll break your heart and make you smile at the same time with its brilliantly melancholy vibes.  The rhythm section holds it steady, which gives Mr. Sushi the opportunity to make an absolutely incredible contribution through the lead guitar that is so amazingly subtle yet so remarkably essential to this song it blows my mind.  Then there’s Ancheta – what an absolutely astounding talent!  I’m not even suggesting she’s reached her peak yet – and she sounds outright incredible already.  I might argue that she’s got another level to reach, maybe even two – but where she’s already at with what she can do with her voice is tremendous.  Heartfelt, endearing, and just straight-up wonderful to listen to, she supplies the heart on “The Place Where I Need To Be.”

Dig the third track too, even if I’d tell ya it was a somewhat distant third place by comparison to how much I loved the first two tracks…for now.  I fully reserve the right to change my opinion on it later on in the future, because I suspect that “This Haze” could very well be one of the tracks on this record that’ll grow on you exponentially over time.  It’s got such a deep and interesting sound to it…almost like you’re listening to an audible mystery; it draws you in close to pay attention to all the tiniest of its details, because only by paying close attention to everything you’re hearing can you create the full picture.  I suppose you could call “This Haze” one of the deep cuts to a degree, but it’s still got a full dose of style & swagger combined…hooks that are fully tangible…and uniqueness that wasn’t quite as revealed in those first two songs.  Whereas I could cite tracks from the past that might have reminded me of “In My Time Of Need” or “The Place Where I Need To Be,” a song like “This Haze” felt much more authentic & artistic by comparison.  Really well-executed overall, and relentlessly interesting, “This Haze” is a quality listen, where what’s happening in the background is as equally compelling as what you’re hearing closest to ya.

It is TOUGH to find real faults worth commenting on…and I’m not just gonna make stuff up outta whole cloth for the sake of having something to be critical about.  The most I’ll concede to ya, is that you’ll find the occasional cut here and there on Saving Graces that might not seem like it’ll appeal to you as much as one of the others in the lineup that you’ve fallen in love with, but even in those instances, I bet there’s going to be a part along the way that you’ll find still makes it special.  Like, I was convinced when I heard “Self Love” for the first time that there wasn’t going to be quite enough there for me as the song started up.  The opening verse was decent, but I wasn’t convinced that it had that special spark needed to keep me coming back to it…and then the chorus came along…and like…how can you resist Ancheta’s beautiful voice y’all?  That’d be a next to impossible task I reckon, and I don’t feel so inclined to try.  I’d much rather listen and “experience the joy and beauty” in what she creates and celebrate her victories along with her when they come around.  For me, “Self Love” is one of those songs you find that are all about the core message more than anything else…and sometimes there’s a slight trade-off with the way the music works or the hold it has on you in instances like those.  This is quaint, welcoming, and truly beautiful though…so if you’re examining the relationship between a concept, lyricism, and performance, you’ve gotta realize that what you’re listening to on “Self Love” is right on target.  In any event, if you did somehow find a way to resist “Self Love” at the start, Frances’ voice in the chorus will bring you right onboard.  Sometimes all we need is to find that gateway in, and we start to further appreciate the rest.

What I wouldn’t be surprised about, is if you told me that Frances listens to a whole lot of The Pretenders…because I’d personally assume she does based on what I’ve heard in a lot of these songs.  As “The One Left Standing” began, I felt like I could hear that classic style of majestic melody at the core of her vocals, and while Frances has her own signature sound, you could still draw many similarities to how the iconic Chrissie Hynde approached the music she wrote.  This also isn’t the first song to make me feel that way either – I got this Pretenders-esque feeling in the opening two tracks as well.  It’s not an influence that’s so obvious that it would make Ancheta’s music derivative – it’s an accent to the vibe, almost like a gentle hand guiding her to the kinds of melodies that connect right to the hearts and minds listening.  Of course, you could look at that potential influence and realize that even The Pretenders were still drawing on influences of their own that traced back even further into music’s history, so on and so on…but yeah…I dunno…call me crazy, the old-school melodies that Frances comes up with seem to be amongst the most effective to me.  I love the sound of everything I hear on “The One Left Standing” and so far as Saving Graces is concerned, I’ve been nothing but pleased with the way she’s been able to reach back in time to bring the grace, beauty, and charm of the past right into the present.

Music is always a window into the soul, ain’t it?  You’d have to assume that Frances Ancheta has overcome some serious adversity along the way, or at the very least, experienced it through others if we’re to take songs like “Self Love” or “No More Judgments” for what they’re communicating to us.  I love this line right here:  “If I’m a disappointment, please know that it’s you who finds the faults in me that you don’t like about yourself.”  You see?  Projection works in all kinds of ways.  While Frances is making it clear that she’s been through some shit in her lifetime, she’s also highlighting the fact that it’s often projection from others that becomes an obstacle to our self-esteem and knowing our self-worth.  So it’s like…she’s serving you up projection, two-ways…if you’re paying close attention.  In any event, this would be another track where I’d say the comments I’d make would be similar to what I had to say about “Self Love” earlier on – “No More Judgments” is a good song, but it’s the message that takes the top priority here.  Nothing wrong with that whatsoever; regardless of whether or not we’d ever want to admit it as artists, there’s always a dominant trait to what we create and a priority for every song.  In this instance, Ancheta trades a fraction of accessibility in the music for a message she wants you to hear, but with respect to that, I think she’s got an empowering song in “No More Judgments” that many people would benefit by hearing, and I still think the chorus has more than enough hooks to keep the masses happy & singing along.  Another stellar solo from Mr. Sushi can be found within this song as well.

Another track I was pretty convinced from the moment it began that it might not have enough to fully keep me engaged was “Living With,” similar to how I felt about “This Haze” earlier on when I first starting listening.  The main difference this time around is that my instincts were probably right.  Look – I’m always going to be able to advocate on behalf of such a sincere songwriter and dedicated artist like Frances Ancheta, because ultimately, I love everything she’s doing on this record – including “Living With.”  You end up in scenarios like these where you’re pretty much forced to make comparisons to the rest of the lineup within the context of one album, and “Living With” is undeniably where a few people out there will feel that pinch of restlessness without as many hooks to keep them occupied – make sense?  That doesn’t mean “Living With” isn’t still a good song or well worth your time to listen to.  I felt like by the second time I heard it, it was already growing on me significantly, and it continued to do so from there on in as well.  At the point I’m at now, having spun this song several times over, it’s like I feel like I can appreciate “Living With” as one big moment…like the song itself is one giant hook, a vibe, a mood…a moment of its own, almost separate from the rest of the record.  It’s cohesive enough to fit, but it’s still decisively different than a lot of the material on Saving Graces as well.  I love the way she sings the chorus of this song though, and every time that moment came around, it seemed to perk my ears back up again.  It’s very laidback, right up to and including the solo…but it’s also got this stellar, contemplative writing and feeling to it that’s very much like Frances singing the things we think out loud.

Even “Doing The Best I Can” might feel like it’s missing a bit of that melodic spark that we connect to so early on in Frances’ album – I wouldn’t be surprised if a few folks felt that way, and back-to-back with “Living With” might make this particular part of Saving Graces feel like it’s a bit dry compared to how it all began.  Where I felt like I probably did the majority of the work finding my way into “Living With,” I felt like you can’t help but appreciate the depth of a song like “Doing The Best I Can” and that it earns your attention with a couple of spins.  A couple more, and you’ll probably find you’re much more attached to this song than you might have even assumed you would be at first…and I kind of love that, you know?  I’m all for songs sneaking up on us like that.  I like it when strong songwriting can convince us, and I feel like “Doing The Best I Can” is a stellar example of how that works in action.  It wasn’t after too many spins at all that I felt like…hmm…how do I describe this?  It’s like…the impeccable balance that it has is so incredibly even all across the board that it feels like “Doing The Best I Can” is missing the all-important dynamics that a song requires to get people listening at first, but then when you spin this a whole bunch of times, you really start to look forward to the uniqueness that this song brings to Saving Graces and appreciate the differences it has.  I’d go as far as to say there’s a good chance that “Doing The Best I Can” might actually end up being many people’s favorite track on the record over the course of time.  Sure, there are going to be songs that we’ll all notice and form attachments to earlier in this set-list, but don’t be surprised if “Doing The Best I Can” soon becomes the reason that you want to come back to listen to Saving Graces all over again.  There’s something distinctly special about the atmosphere of this song that fully envelops you…it’s really a masterclass in creating a sensory mood that you can genuinely feel.  A hazy combination of weary-but-unbreakable spirit, like something the Cowboy Junkies would have created in their prime…it’s an unflinching examination of internal emotions we can relate to.

Ending with a noticeable dose of sweetness with some handclaps and an upbeat melody, Frances finishes off her new record on solid ground with “When That Day Comes.”  Another track that could easily draw comparisons to Hynde’s vocals at points, especially in the beginning as Ancheta starts to sing this one, I gotta say, it just feels easy to like a song like “When That Day Comes” no matter what it is that you might normally listen to.  If you’ve been paying attention to her words along the way, you already know that Frances is clearly a light in this world, and she’s doing her best to share that light with the rest of us on an album like this.  I’m more than happy to bask in the glow – I think Frances Ancheta is an undeniable talent and this record has been nothing but wonderful to listen to this week.  “When That Day Comes” is simply further confirmation that’s she’s every bit as amazing as I’ve been telling you she is from the very start of this review, and a beautifully welcome finale that’s filled with inviting sound.  “This loveliness is reality,” as she says and details so well throughout so many of her songs – Frances is manifesting the kind of world she wants to live in, and thankfully she’s kind enough to take us all along with her for the journey.  She’s got charming perspective, a stunningly sincere voice, a gift for melody, and a message that listeners will certainly connect with.  “When That Day Comes” is positively enticing in every way, and that definitely includes your desire spin this album all over again.  Saving Graces is an album to be proud of, not only for how the songs came out, but also for what they stand for.  This is a lineup of meaningful material created by musicians that clearly care about their craft, fully intended to be an album that resonates deep within the hearts of all who listen to it.  Mission accomplished Frances.

Find out more about Frances Ancheta from her official website at:  https://francesanchetasongwriter.com

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