Record Collector
"With all the softness and ache her voice can muster, Sian Webley guides us through a broken world accompanied by bare acoustics and evocative violins. Never has desperation sounded so good. While certainly no jolly affair, Anna Kashfi produce a compelling round of harmonies, instruments and faint melancholy, which rides tandem with their increasing recognition. Whitworth park has the kind of glockenspiel sprinkles and wiry guitars that transports into a sepia world, like a big version of Portmeirion sans big white ball chasing you. In short, they've done it again!"
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Is This Music?
"I'm not sure, but there must be a point when banjo plucking gets so slow that what's being played isn't bluegrass any more. And when it gets that laidback and lazy, it becomes "Lakeside Call", an Alison Krauss-y lazy piece of Americana. "Whitworth Park" is more traditional in the indie pop sense i.e. less deep south and more Sarah, but still with the Nashville drawl of singer Sian Webley. Rather enchanting." [Stuart McHugh]
www.isthismusic.com
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Penny Black Music
"Manchester-based alternative country group, Anna Kashfi, have been through a lot of changes since they released their last record, six track mini-album, ‘Philokelia’, back in 2000. Their then label, the locally-based Emma’s House recordings, folded shortly afterwards and they have since then found a new home at another Mancurian label, Stolenwine records. The group, which originally consisted of duo Sian Webley (vocals) and James Youngjohns (guitars, banjo, harmonium, pedal steel), has expanded to a four piece and now also includes Sarah Kemp (viola, glockenspiel) and Peter Martin (bass, guitar). A highlight of previous Anna Kashfi recordings has been Webley’s aerobic vocals. ‘Philokelia’ found her confidently taking on a wide range of guises which ran a convincing course from waif-like innocent to hard-headed woman of the world, and from heartbroken, abandoned lover to vengeful harpy. ‘Lakeside Call/Whitworth Park’, which, like its predecessor, has come out as vinyl only release, has her adopting another two distinct personas. On ‘Lakeside Call’ Webley plays the part of a husky-voiced older woman, whose lustful cravings for a boy young enough to be her son whom she watches swimming on a lake, force her to assess her own relationship in which her lover, despite being largely physically cold and emotionally distant from her, begs her to stay. Youngjohns both beats out an intense three-chord rhythym on an acoustic guitar, and plucks at a tingling banjo. Kemp’s violin shimmers mournfully, while Martin’s understated bass adds further to the general tension and claustrophic atmosphere of the song. 'Actions speak louder/How loud do I have to act before powder and paint starts to crack' sings Webley at her lover capturing perfectly all the desperation and pathos of her character’s confused situation. ‘Whitworth Park’ is on the surface lighter and breezier. Webley’s airy vocals tell of a perfect day spent in a park with her lover. Kemp’s chiming glockenspiel merges wth Youngjohns’ rambling guitarwork to strident effect, but, there is, however, a twist to the tale. The day, for all its cinemascopic glory, happened years ago. The relationship broke up shortly afterwards ('We’re laughing, haven’t guessed, but this is as good as it gets') and Webley’s former boyfriend is now dead. At barely nine minutes in length, ‘Lakeside Call/Whitworth Park’ is a tantalisingly brief, but impressive return to the fore for Anna Kashfi, and combines evocative lyricism with sharp, intelligent lyricism. With half a new album already recorded, their line-up stabilised and their record company problems at last sorted there will hopefully be much more from them soon. It has been far too long since we last enjoyed their stark, subtle pleasures."
www.pennyblackmusic.com
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Losing Today
"There’s no doubt that the name Anna Kashfi is synonymous with the phrase near perfection, 2001’s ‘Philokalia’ was one of the defining moments of that year when it was granted a limited release on the much missed Emma’s House records and into the bargain perhaps offering the label its most celebrated moment. It was simply a record of such withering elegance that angels wept and the very heart of nature buckled and sighed in mournful awe. Now back and fleshed out to a quartet following the arrival of Peter Martin and Sarah Kemp to the fold of mainstays Sian Webley and James Youngblood. Three years on, a new release in the form of Lakeside Call’ backed by Whitworth Park’ and a new label which says to me that either (a) the music industry is a cruel place for overlooking such irresistible talent, or (b), that in Anna Kashfi we have a group of work shy fops, but then if the waiting brings such exquisite rewards, who cares? Anna Kashfi okay another time, a time where innocence and timid naivety run hand in hand, there is no hype here, or for that matter pre arranged bandwagon jumping, the music simply speaks for itself. It’s a music that is timeless and forever hopeful that lies in the cracks between fashion and cult-dom. Sharing that same rustic eloquence and that unique ear for a divine melody as the likes of the Relict and Quiet Loner, both cuts are perfect examples of arresting heartbreak pop. From the opening strains on ‘Lakeside Call’ of the soft viola and the tripping dusted banjo you are immediately aware that you are in the presence of something monumentally special. Brushed with a heart shredding melancholy Sian’s vocals add the final complimentary piece to what painfully fragile and exhaustingly sapping. Flip over for ‘Whitworth Park’ where moods are thankfully happier in spirit, Anna Kashfi playfully imagine the Velvets had they shifted into country rather than pop, subtle tones of pedal steel washes, twinkling bells and the cooling breeze of an accordion melt together into a delectably sensual backdrop that quite frankly summer’s were made for."
www.losingtoday.com
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Delusions of Adequacy
"Despite being in existence for some four or so years now, this Manchester, England outfit is still painfully unknown outside of local circles, despite a steady trickle of singles, EPs, and compilation appearances since 2000’s 'Three Wise Men' EP. Yet the band’s financially-restricted release rate and unintentional obscurity is perhaps a good means of keeping its fragile elegiac craft from corruption.
"Although frustratingly brief at only two songs spread across nine minutes, this direct follow-up release to 2001’s beguiling 'Philokalia' 10" six-tracker is still rather special. Not that the band - now bolstered from a duo to a four-piece - has radically altered in the interim. This continues to be an exercise in making skeletal simplicity have a profound penetrating effect. The key to it all is still Sian Webley’s nakedly untreated voice, blessed with Kristin Hersh huskiness and Hope Sandoval-like allure. The way she wraps her vocals around the words with resigned hope as well as dread is both chilling and comforting.
"Yet it isn’t entirely Sian’s show. Although the other members of the band give her voice plenty of room to breathe, their multi-instrumentalist skills are put to good, deeply subtle use. With plaintive banjo and a mournful violin from James Youngjohns and Sarah Kemp respectively on 'Lakeside Call', the song plays havoc with the heartstrings. Whereas the gentle glockenspiel trails, acoustic picking and pedal steel on 'Whitworth Park' help pull the song’s reluctant optimism to the fore.
"Coupled with some gorgeous sleeve paintings from Kevin Craig of fellow Manchester-dwellers Last Harbour (with whom Anna Kashfi sometimes share members), there is really no excuse for not hunting out this bittersweet and all too brief little treasure." [Adrian Pannett]
www.adequacy.net
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This is Not TV
"It's not often you come across something which is genuinely beautiful but the band Anna Kashfi fit that description easily. The alt.country four piece blend together delicate instrumentation with pensive melodies and whispery vocals which are gloriously fragile. This single comprising of two tracks 'Lakeside Call' and 'Whitworth Park' has a very organic feel to it. The songs are gently put together and developed and sound totally natural and fresh.
"Vocalist Sian Webley has a slightly worn edge to her voice and could almost be described as a female Mark Lanegan, whilst the general sound of the band reminds me in places of Mazzy Star, The Divine Comedy and Adem. The two tracks are simply wonderful and breathtakingly beautiful. 'Whitworth Park' in particular is just gorgeous, with a twinkly little melody that is as summery as a picnic on a pleasantly warm day. I am blown away by Anna Kashfi, a band who show that you can create a huge impact without a lot of noise. If only more bands were this inspiring." [Emma Farrer]
www.thisisnottv.co.uk
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Manchester Music
"The sombre tempo, guitars, strings and plucked banjo supply so many emotional connections that this song, in sound alone, could mean so many things to so many people. Soaked in traditional folk, superbly sparse, and crammed with beautiful arrangements, 'Lakeside Call' evokes the call of Americana and modern acoustic song writing. Sian Webley’s vocals are pure, on one hand with a crystal clarity, on the other, anchored in confidence and a delivery that matches her wonderful timbre with a perfectly balanced, passionate, but restrained vocal line.
"'Whitworth Park' fades in with glazed effects and sparkling guitars, which offer similar deliberate restraints, but an altogether brighter outlook. James Youngjohns guitar provides steady security, but contains picked notes that seem destined to be neighbours with the vocals in a song such as this. The cascading, fluctuating progressions, seem easy, but work hard beneath Webley’s breathy, sweet, melancholy emotive songs. An evocative and attractive release from Manchester’s alt.folk pioneers." 5/5 [JA]
www.manchestermusic.co.uk
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www.bbc.co.uk
"As gentle as a summer breeze and sounding like they have found some bluegrass in Platt Fields Park, Anna Kashfi are not what you expect from Manchester and they're all the better for it. Lakeside Call has lazy plucked acoustics and seductive harmonies that just beg to be indulged. There's something Nickel Creek, something Shawn Colvin going on in their collective minds and they deserve a chance to expand it." [Chris Long]
www.bbc.co.uk
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