Working with cycles, Anna Wiebe's latest record, All I Do is Move, employs growth as a theme, while also showcasing her own as an artist. All I Do Is Move follows her lo-fi folk debut, 2016's New Behaviour, with arrangements that spin complex pop threads into the mix.
All I Do Is Move is not afraid to bite. The album opens with the electric guitar edges of "Fortune," which moves like a summer storm, sticky and near-divine, as vocals layer up. "Nothing to Fear" carries similar power, with a sturdy melody pushed along by Wiebe's strong voice at its most crystalline.
The record is held together by the gentler songs, which shift more experimental, such as "It's A Good Thing," on which strings arrive and jump staccato with a suddenness, so that the refrain "I'm passing time but I'm not going to die" is poignant in its repetition. The final track, "Clean," pulls many of the elements of All I Do Is Move together: harmonizing, electric guitar resonance, and vocals that flow like a stream over rocks. The ending, though sudden, feels apt for an album that works to surprise.
At 25 minutes long, this sophomore record touches on the theme of change in variation, challenging preconceived notions of cycles as constant, just as it confronts the steady tropes of folk music. What is clear is that Wiebe is a thoughtful songwriter, and the risks she takes, though subtle and often quick, pay off.
(Independent)All I Do Is Move is not afraid to bite. The album opens with the electric guitar edges of "Fortune," which moves like a summer storm, sticky and near-divine, as vocals layer up. "Nothing to Fear" carries similar power, with a sturdy melody pushed along by Wiebe's strong voice at its most crystalline.
The record is held together by the gentler songs, which shift more experimental, such as "It's A Good Thing," on which strings arrive and jump staccato with a suddenness, so that the refrain "I'm passing time but I'm not going to die" is poignant in its repetition. The final track, "Clean," pulls many of the elements of All I Do Is Move together: harmonizing, electric guitar resonance, and vocals that flow like a stream over rocks. The ending, though sudden, feels apt for an album that works to surprise.
At 25 minutes long, this sophomore record touches on the theme of change in variation, challenging preconceived notions of cycles as constant, just as it confronts the steady tropes of folk music. What is clear is that Wiebe is a thoughtful songwriter, and the risks she takes, though subtle and often quick, pay off.
