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Feb 20, 2018 Web Exclusive By Timothy Michalik

Anna Burch’s debut album for Polyvinyl, Quit the Curse, is heavily reminiscent of ‘90s singer-songwriter Liz Phair, both honest and confessional. The Detroit-based folkie is no stranger to the Detroit music scene, having released albums both independently and alongside Detroit bands Frontier Ruckus and Failed Flowers since 2010.

Burch sounds to be really enjoying herself on Quit the Curse, immersed in her songwriting that’s both witty and heartfelt. However, there’s a strict dichotomy between these songs: at once gentle, swaying folk ballads, channeling noisy, scratched-out guitar leads.

Burch elicits heavyhearted hometown nostalgia. The saloon door slide-guitar on “Belle Isle,” an ode to a hometown treasure and natural beauty, emits some stylistic changes for Burch, spewing: “Like the night we made out on belle isle,” for most Detroit locals, this is a very common memory from their past.

However, this album, lyrically speaking, at times lacks substance, as Burch falls into the same heart aching tropes as each song finds herself in the exact same position: vulnerable, anxious, and heartbroken. This isn’t to say that Quit the Curse isn’t impressive. Burch has grown immensely as an artist, each song instrumentally richer than the last. Burch’s voice is as confident as ever, but more heartbroken than before. ­­­­(www.annaburch.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 7/10