Anna Calvi - Is This All There Is?

Proclaimed as the first of three related releases on which Anna Calvi muses on themes of identity and change, ‘Is This All There Is?’ sees the singer-songwriter take the former on in almost literal form, with each collaborator on this four track EP infusing their respective recordings with their own sonic imprint. The title track featuring The National frontman Matt Berninger, is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the closest in style to what most might expect from Anna Calvi, and perhaps as a consequence, the pair’s classic spin on a duet - their complementing vocal lines sometimes a simmering echo, at others more straightforward call-and-response, and elsewhere allowing for Anna to go full pelt – is likely the record’s standout. Iggy Pop brings a thundering swagger to opener ‘God’s Lonely Man’, his gruff voice here a smart textural contrast to Anna’s lower register, while Perfume Genius’ Mike Hadreas is close to a whimper on Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy cover ‘I See A Darkness’, as the track expands to an almost epic scale behind him. Most interesting, meanwhile, is the turn of Laurie Anderson on another cover, Kraftwerk’s ‘Computer Love’, where her delivery of the song’s repetitive lyrics is often as if she’s beginning to understand them in real time. Hardly an undiscovered talent, of course, but one which sits at a 90-degree angle to the other three tracks in a mind-scratching manner. A short-and-sweet curio that’s just as much setting Anna Calvi – and whichever assorted pals she brings along next time – to go just about anywhere her question-happy whim takes her.