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Anika Moa: In Swings The Tide

The class and beauty of Anika’s work,and her ear for a great pop hook, are undeniable. ‘In Swings The Tide’ is a two faced creature. Musically uplifting, gorgeous, upbeat and poppy (with an unmissable country influence this time round), it often disguises the agonised, heartbroken and brutally honest lyrical side of the story. Never one to shy away from intensely personal subject matter, see My Old Man this time round. Like In The Morning off her last album ‘Stolen Hill’, much of this is deceptively dark and troubled, staying clear of musically hard hitting territory like Harry & Leena’s Song off her debut. Opener Wise Men Say is as effortlessly perfect pop song as you’ll hear. Heightened by Miss Universe, sweeping orchestral ballad Standing In This Fire, and the harmony charged You’re The Light, you can still see why Atlantic US were so excited prior to her thwarted debut. For an example of how well she’s done on production duties, witness the darker definitive closer Thinking About Tomorrow. Beautiful warm harmonies (Anika, Anna Coddington et al) and heavy use of the Auckland Philharmonic augment this quite gorgeous album. Recorded at home by Anika and cleverly engineered/mixed by Andre Upston, released by EMI.

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