Stephen Steinbrink – Anagrams

Album Review by Gary Kaill | 22 Jun 2016
Album title: Anagrams
Artist: Stephen Steinbrink
Label: Melodic
Release date: 1 Jul

Anagrams is an unashamedly breezy collection: unfussy arrangements, an infectiously upbeat folk-pop vibe and a bag full of melodies. There’s more going on here than the California dreamin’ groove of Imposible Hand and Absent Mind would suggest, but diversions from the template are frustratingly rare, and as a whole, it errs on the side of good manners more than it really needs to.

As ever with a dreamy aesthetic, when tone and production trump drama and bite, it connects largely at surface level. Which is fine – just don't expect fireworks. Anagrams is not nearly as watery as, say, Vetiver, but it's some distance from the righteous majesty of The Shins. On the odd occasion where it detours into the dark, as on the stirring I’m Turning Inside Out, it hints at an underbelly that would have been worth exploring further. Next time, maybe.

http://stephensteinbrink.com