RATING: 4 stars out of 5
Songs of Goodbye is Annabella's second record and their most fragile and poetic to date. While the piano-and-drums, husband-and-wife duo from Georgetown TX is closer musically to bands like The Sundays and Mazzy Star, they will no doubt draw immediate comparisons to the Quasi/Mates Of State camp based on dynamic alone. Terri Dittmar's voice, undoubtedly the focus of the record, sits atop a rich and beautiful reverberated soundscape of Rhodes-piano sustain, flute, and soft, distant guitar arpeggios, which together make for a beautiful listening experience.
The production is also a focal point of this record, tastefully adding lush layers of reverbs and vibratos to the record's fabric. Likewise, the drums are organic and sparse, never intrusive. Highlights of this album include La Ciudad, Fading Away, and It Comes Down. Innocent but evocative lyrics help paint a bleak and, at the same time, vivid picture of the author's world, which is sad but not morbid. The album ends with words of poetic insight, "If you conquer this world you will still have nothing, but if you love someone you'll die a hero." With the record's close, these words breathe optimism into the final moments Annabella shares with the listener, as if to say, all of the many goodbyes were worth it.
- franklin morris
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