I think it’s safe to say: Anna Ternheim is to this decade what Beth Orton was to the 90s. There was a brief era when it seemed that folk-influenced trip-hop was going to be the next big thing. It faded, but before the mood had completely disappeared we were graced with Orton’s beautiful Central Reservation.
To Be Gone – Anna Ternheim
Now, a decade later, I listen to this song, and once again I’m transported into another world. A world of dreamy melodies that ride on the gentle crest of an electronic beat, with a voice that enchants and bewitches. However, where Orton’s singing was gauzy, expansive, strong – Ternheim provides a decidedly Scandanavian perspective. More sparse. And instead of draping over you, it flutters and dances – always someplace just beyond your reach.
It’s a lonely sound. One that says far more about what is hidden than it does about what is on display. It calls to mind a distant loneliness, one that stretches across an entire life. And all that holds it together is the memory of a quick kiss, shared in the black and white world of a snowy night under a new moon.
Anna Ternheim has been around for a while, but Halfway to Fivepoints is her first US release.