Ane Brun – It All Starts With One

Norwegian born singer Ane Brun returns with her fifth studio album It All Starts With One through her own record label Balloon Ranger Recordings this week and it can honestly be said that the album is both enigmatic and enchanting.

Album opener These Days begins with a reoccurring musical trait of big rolling drum beats punctuating the almost haunting record. It would be fair to describe it as a fairly timid album; the tracks are low key, not big and certainly not aggressive, powerful yes, but in an extremely understated way. It is with the peaks of bigger numbers such as title track It All Starts With One and current single from the album Do You Remember that highlights the versatility of Brun.

Brun has perfected the balance of music versus vocals, which both complement each other so elegantly on this record. If anything, Brun’s vocals are presented in a slightly submissive role to the accompaniment of instruments. It is notable when an artist can create and sustain a powerful emotion without having to wail and curl her voice and Brun has perfected this talent. Not once on this album does her vocal become an overriding feature. Tracks What’s Happening With You And Him and Oh Love stand out due to this seemingly natural balance she has created. The arrangements are awash with orchestral strings, acoustic guitar, impressive timpani ripples, piano and a plethora of other instrumentations.

The ten track album marks Brun’s professionalism and heartfelt delivery of her understanding of music. It is with a decade of experience that she has developed and emblazoned her own unique mark in music and it is with unconditional simplicity that Ane Brun has created an album to accompany you into the ether. Paradoxically one could not say that it isn’t musically complex. A skill that when achieved can create something as magical as It All Starts With One.