Anne Vriend

Anne Vriend's split personality is her strength on Soul Unravelling. The songwriter either dives headfirst into after-hours jams with her band, the Dropouts, or meditates over charming piano balladry. Life from the piano bench is the topic of "Still Life #7" and lonely girls in big cities dominates "The Only Living Girl in New York." These piano-bar carols are as fragile and restrained as Vreind's full-blown songs are fun and groove-centred. Plenty of Rhodes and Clavinette (especially in the reggae-fashioned "Crazy Things") are front and centre and keep the album warm and funk-filled.