Charm. It’s one of those unquantifiable things. You might think you have it – and many do – but most likely you haven’t. Anna Sweeney, however, has charm and it pervades the four songs on her EP and, whilst she wears her heart on her sleeve, she does so with an emotional dignity.
Her songs bely her youth with “Catch 22”, in particular, sounding more like it should have come from the pen of an early seventies professional songstress like Lynsey DePaul than that of a young lass from Ayrshire and “Oh, Gosh Darnit” is likewise clever, catchy and – oh, gosh darnit – really quite cute. The aforementioned songs also highlighted Ms Sweeney’s keyboard skills while the others, “Not Any More” and “Time”, are more conventional in their approach and that places them in the rather more crowded territory occupied by the likes of Amy Macdonald.
The recording quality is variable – I think there might be a law against using that much reverb on the female voice – but both the song writing and performance are well up to par. I hope that Ms Sweeney keeps tinkling those ivories and charming audiences for some time to come.
You can get her EP from ITunes.