Anna Gevorkian

Hopefully this is the first in a series of blog posts about artists that I've sort of bumped into thanks to Twitter... The first comes from LA. However - as I've previously mentioned, the City of Angels  is in reality one urban sprawl of 30-odd cities struggling to find their own identity - and since this up and coming singer-songwriter actually comes from Studio City, does this actually make her a Valley Girl?

Apart from her twitter feed I don't really know that much about Anna Gevorkian - except that she's just released her debut five-track EP "Reflections" and that she plays guitar and ukulele.  

At a cursory glance this collection is ostensibly a pleasant enough selection of contemporary and acoustic folk-pop. However, whilst in the hands of (say) a Taylor Swift or a Colbie Callait, one listen would be enough to induce type 2 diabetes - here Anna injects just enough of an indie-vibe and refreshing naivety to make this EP a bit of a breath of fresh air.

The strongest track on display here is "Young hearts;" an incredibly melodic and totally enchanting, upbeat acoustic West Coast indie-folk song which - if what laughable passes for radio here ever used some initiative and got their hands on this song - would be - should be absolutely played to death over the airwaves (in fact I suspect that I'd end up ripping the radio out of the car and hurling it into the 101 Freeway... and then wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat as I tried to get the tune out of my head)... There's a deliberately flat vocal intro before the guitar melody kicks in and steers the song in the direction of early Juliana Hatfield territory.

This song is just perfect for summer and should be a nailed-on hit - so of course it won't...

However, Anna is more than a one-song wonder. There's a nice tonal balance across all the songs on display here. The bewitching "Sea of grey" is sympathetically illustrated by an atmospheric monochromatic video that faithful captures the song's sentiment (see below); while "If I could", a duet with Shaunt Sulahian of LA metal rockers Blackmore - is frankly inspired - and proves that music does indeed soothe the savage beast...

Anna has been compared to Regina Spektor and Sara Bareilles; I can't speak about the latter, but the former is certainly good company; In my mind however, there's more of a similarity to the quirkiness of the aforementioned Ms. Hatfield and more recently the home spun philosophy of an Ingrid Michaelson, all mixed with the sensibilities of the contemporary pop-folk scene both of the Pacific North-West and Atlantic Arcadia.

There's certainly enough on display to suggest that Anna can more than carve out a career here. While it would be perhaps fair to say that this EP isn't exactly tearing up new ground, there's a crying need for contemporary, catchy - and yes radio friendly - pop that doesn't leave you feeling as if you've just ingested half a kilo (or in old money, "abart a parnd") of high-fructose corn syrup...

On the evidence of this EP, Anna Gevorkian may quite well fit the bill...

The EP is available from iTunes or can be streamed via Spotify. However, seeing as you'd need to play it 24/7 until the day you die for Anna to receive a large enough royalty cheque to buy a double-defcaf-skinny-latte-with-syrup, better that you just pay the $4.95 - which not only allows her to immediately enjoy the coffee-flavoured beverage of her choice - but enables you to own one cool slice of contemporary laid-back West Coast pop...

Anna Gevorkian Website
Anna Gevorkian "Reflections" (iTunes)
Anna Gevorkian SoundCloud page