Anna Calvi - Anna Calvi

‘Melodrama’ means, quite literally, ‘music’ and ‘drama’, and if this was a one-word review, it would be the most satisfactory definition of Anna Calvi’s self-titled debut. From the whirling guitar (ahem) theatrics of instrumental opener ‘Rider To The Sea’ to the final string-swelled crescendo of ‘Love Won’t Be Leaving’, every moment of its 39-minute duration is saturated with a cinematic, dramatic quality that, for better or worse, refuses to let up.

For the first half, much of that seems firmly placed in the better category. ‘No More Words’ is (at the risk of pushing the concept too far) a stage whispered lust song driven by trickles of guitar that intrigues by seemingly never quite showing its full hand, before ‘Desire’ kicks in, all chest-beating anthemics and deep, sonorous howls. ‘First We Kiss’, Calvi’s first release, sits as a centrepiece though, and embodies everything that the album attempts throughout. Languorously slipping from vampy, film-noir nightclub seduction to full-blooded murder soundtrack, replete with minor-key background moans, this is the perfect distillation of how a songwriter with as much of a sense of performance as Calvi undoubtedly does can manipulate sound into story. Some of the tale is told in lyrics, but far more is implied in the progression of the song, carrying the listener through on a tide of well-placed musical cues.

But in placing this powerful statement at the centre of the album, many of the songs that follow cannot live up to what precedes them. ‘The Devil’s slow-burning style lacks the grace of its forebear, ‘I’ll Be Your Man’ goes nowhere, repeating itself into insignificance and the Arcade-Fire aping, triumphal ‘Blackout’ is enjoyable, but offers nothing new. The common thread here is a constant need to match the theatricality of ‘First We Kiss’ but at the expense of concentrating on the real musical needs of each song – it becomes more music-drama than drama-music.

Perhaps it’s being trumpeted by the likes of Nick Cave and Brian Eno, but Anna Calvi’s problem is an over-exuberance to display all it can do at once. Perhaps it’s an eagerness to justify the praise, which in fact ends up taking away from the very real skill she possesses; that of the slow, grand reveal. Calvi undoubtedly has an incredibly powerful voice, astounding guitar technicality, an ear for a tune and a mind for songcraft, and her boasts that the album was influenced by the illustrious likes of Debussy seem to actually hold water in places. She seemingly possesses everything she needs to make a very good album - but the final piece of the songwriting puzzle will always be the least obvious and hardest to capture: restraint. It takes a truly great musician to reveal what they have subtly, and subtlety is rarely on show here. “Melodrama” has become a derogatory term for needless exaggeration for a reason, but if she takes heed of what its two core components are and how best to combine them, Anna Calvi’s next album might be able to take on the mantle of the melodrama with real pride.