Anni Rossi – Safety of Objects

Anni Rossi’s newly released video ‘Safety of Objects’ combines the clipped sound of tinny electronic drums with imperfect scuzzed-up strings and Anni’s deceptively saccharine vocals. The result is pleasantly off-kilter pop music that feels attitude-filled and minimalist whilst retaining the essential brain-sticking quality of all good pop songs.

It’s quite unusual to hear convincing pop that does not follow the grand tradition of song-subjects, you know – we love each other very much, I still love you but you don’t love me, or It’s ok you don’t love me because I’ve learned to love myself. It’s pretty cynical subject matter, and the video’s use of archive happy family footage emphasises the song’s feeling of the anti-establishment. This is not as simple as a shouty metal band bemoaning ‘the man’ however, Rossi’s touch is more subtle and clever. There is something of the complex in the simplicity of her lyrics, just like how the simple-sounding mix is deceiving, and her own sweeter-than-though vocals conceal the true meaning of her words.

She writes in the press for her new album about her songwriting: “I think there is a slightly mischievous streak that has bubbled to the surface in some of my writing. I address dark themes, violence, conflict and agony in a playful way, it’s almost like I’m winking at the listener.”

The playfulness – in her mischievous lyrics and the breathless falsetto jumps in the vocal line – matched with the restraint in instrumentation, and the decidedly unsmiling video show a sense of musical maturity, as well as an openness to experimentation. It would appear that a recent move to New York, and the introduction of a full band have given Rossi the confidence to expand on her pop leanings.

‘Safety of Objects’ is taken from Anni Rossi’s second album Heavy Meadow, which was released earlier this month on 3 Syllables Records.