Anni Rossi
Rockwell

Anni Rossi is a twenty-three-year-old from Chicago.

She is a multi-instrumentalist but her main instrument is the viola (and not the violin, as she specifies on her Myspace page).

"Rockwell" is her debut released by 4AD.

It was recorded at Electrical Audio studios with the skillful production of Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Pixies, Uzeda, Jesus Lizard, and much more).

"Rockwell" lines up 10 songs for half an hour of music. And what music!

Anni's viola embroiders good instrumental solutions, her voice is used as a real musical instrument. The other instruments color the canvas of an already well-defined painting: from the keyboard of "Ecology" to the clarinet of "Venice", from the use of the cello to the use of percussion.

"Machine", the opening track, is a jewel of avant-pop. "The West Coast" is an evocative ballad. There's almost a need to transcribe the entire tracklist.

This album is truly a great introduction.

Certainly one of the best of 2009.