Annie

It feels like there is an overabundance of northern European songstress at the moment; from the experimentalist musings of Bjork to the indie pop of Lykke Li. So where does that leave room for the Norwegian artist Annie? Well the audience at The Hobbit in Southampton bore witness to an artist well in control of her own identity. The opening swirls of synth pads and moody lighting seemed to announce a rather dour affair until suddenly the gloom gave wave to the angular funky bass of early single “Chewing Gum.” Suddenly the haze was lifted and the party was in full swing. Fun catchy melodies and swift moving bass lines abounded everywhere. Annie is more than comfortable in the spotlight. She may not strut across the stage to choreographed dance routines but you can tell she’s in complete control of the show and this feeds directly to the audience, who are all on their feet and doing the dancing for her. The sense of abandon culminated with the perfect pop song that is “Heartbeat.” The driving rhythm combined with the gorgeous airy vocals of the original makes for something special, and in this particular live setting Annie certainly knocked it out of the park with a vibrancy that had everyone on their feet chanting along with her. She may not be the first name in everyone’s minds when you think of a Scandinavian pop princess but she certainly should be up there with the very best.