ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross REVIEW

8.0/10

New York City-based Music collective ANOHNI and the Johnsons, presenting the work of English singer-songwriter ANOHNI, released their first full-length project this year since 2010. Although I was a bit late to the party, I was still blown away by the soulful champer-pop sounds this album is littered with.

"It Must Change" starts the album with buttery smooth vocals, lovely buried strings, and light jazzy drums. The lyrics are stunningly emotional; ANOHNI repeating the words "it must change" breaks you. I loved the subtle display of vocals at the end of the track. "Go Ahead" is an interesting interlude with a distorted and grimy electric guitar accompanied by theatrical vocals. "Silver Of Ice" has beautiful layers of strings that give gospel vibes near the end, but still is a great vocal-building moment.

To me, "Can't" contains some of the most emotional lyrics in the whole project, matched perfectly by a powerful vocal performance. When all the instruments finally make their way in, it offers up this groovy and dancey feel which I enjoyed greatly. "Scapegoat" is one of the best tracks on the entire project, with intriguingly flustered and shaky vocals, a gorgeous second chorus, grandiose instrumental moments, and perfect vocal layering. The breakdown before the intro is absolutely stunning.

I couldn't get much out of "It's My Fault", unfortunately, it's just a fine quaint and subtle track. "Rest", however, contains energetic pounding moments of drums and electric guitar; most notably in the outro. I love how the lyrics build onto each other until she finally lets go in the outro.

"There Wasn't Enough" contains incredibly unique harmonies, sounding almost random but perfectly placed. The outro offers more powerful harmonies, a perfect way to close such a heavy track. The guitar throughout is beautifully melancholy. "Why Am I Alive Now?" contains saddening lyrics, masked by the slightly groovy drum beat. This track is a little bit of a drag until it gets to the instrumental break of lovely strings and a beautiful outro. "You Be Free" is a perfectly quiet, calm, and serene closer.

Despite some tracks that made me lose interest at times, there are some absolutely gorgeous and gut-wrenching tracks in here.

give it a listen