Annie B & The Vagabond Co. - Just Left Of The Middle

Forging in her own direction, after a few year stint with L.A. indie rock group Shut Up Marie, singer/songwriter Annie B and her band, The Vagabond Company, attempt to carve a niche into Milwaukee's music scene with their debut album Fancies of a Random Heart. 

Obviously dedicated, and painstakingly committed to her craft, one trip to Annie's official website (anniebmusic.com) removes any doubt about just how very seriously she takes herself.  She's blogging until she wins a Grammy.  Every day.  

Fancies of a Random Heart is a handsomely packaged, nicely designed and skillfully mixed and mastered self-released album.  The actual content contains a few creaking boards here and there, but Annie B and her crew have undeniable appeal.  It isn’t exactly Grammy appeal (of course, what is exactly? Ahem, Coldplay – really?), but with a bit more honing of her craft, and establishing a tangible identity, it wouldn't be far fetched to imagine her reaching that pinnacle.  For right now, the blogging comes off as somewhat of an empty gimmick, but the presentation and her fervor are endearing.

Annie B (properly, Annette Bzdawka - yeah, seems like not enough vowels to pronounce correctly), has her historical roots in punk rock - and this offers some insight into her songcraft.  Having taken the time to trace back her career and listen to a few Shut Up Marie tracks, it became apparent that the simple and direct method to her songwriting is not a new approach for her.   No shame in that, really, it's worked for a host of punk bands from Weezer to No Doubt, the latter of which is a clear influence of hers.  
The downside is, as she's moved more into the pop-rock arena now, occasionally her lack of illustrative wordplay and poetics is damaging.  "Something Missing" is an example of this, unfortunately arranged as the first song on the album.  In it, she sings "I love you in the morning / I love you in the evening / I love you in the afternoon / baby you got me screamin'..." You grit your teeth a little, because even the most sub-par rock/country song deserves better conceived lyrics than that.  This misfire resurfaces only once more on the song "Chase Her".  It's especially disappointing there, because of all the songs on the album, "Chase Her" has the most under utilized potential.  

The track is a clever concept about an overseen couple's spat while sitting alone, minding her own business at a cafe.  She has no idea what caused all the trouble, but knows, even from her removed disposition, what could be done to maybe see some reconcile (yes, you guessed it, he should chase her).  While it's true that often times excessive wordplay and poetics can inadvertently bury a song's meaning, the lyrics to this otherwise gripping track could have used some Suzanne Vega style wordsmithing.  There are some artists who use allegory intentionally, simply to hide the fact that their song really has no meaning outside of what it fosters for the listener, and there are other artists who are victimized by it when it blankets a discernible message.  Annie's shortcoming is that her words are a tad too lacking in poetics in this particular song - to the point of making it sound entirely too juvenile to be taken seriously.  The pleading surmise of "Chase Her"'s refrain is somewhat of a saving grace, however;  though honestly, a rewrite of the lyrics would do the track well deserved justice.

From top to bottom, Fancies of a Random Heart is a fair submission. While none of the tracks are particularly daring, it's possible they maybe weren't intended to be.  The musicianship is sufficiently credible, and the songs are all solidly structured and well-organized as far as the compositions are concerned.  At times, the album does come off a little like musical clip art: universally digestible, stereotypically representative, etc - but far from being a hard listen by any means.  At its worst, Fancies of a Random Heart's neglect comes from there not being much unique about it.  At its best, Annie B has a way of getting her messages across without a whole lot of pretense, and wrapped in very catchy (though somewhat formulaic) pop-hooks from start to finish.  

"Coffee Beans", for instance, is an upbeat and bouncy number - a sing-songy pop entry that embodies a struggling relationship, and the suggestion of painting a prettier backdrop in hopes of making things better.  As she sings it: "You and me could be happy / Let's run away and eat coconuts / And stay awake on coffee beans..." Far from profound subject matter, but the song has barbs to it that grab and hold, make you turn it up a little, even if bobbing your head to it might be a guilty pleasure.  Getting to hear two versions of it on the same full length is…well - that's different.  Don’t they usually save one for the b-sides pile?  

Some other stand out tracks on the album include the grinding chick rock snarler, "Cat Girl".  It's a jangly surf-punk tune that really makes you imagine a music video for it being told on the pages of an action comic book; the music certainly sounds like it would fit perfectly as the theme for a seductive feminine Marvel hero.   On "The Shining Light" the band hearkens back to 90's era radio pop, and "Hope" clearly poses as an energetic climber designed to delight and ignite live audiences.  

For all that it does or doesn't have going for it, Fancies of a Random Heart will not stunt Annie B’s growth as an emerging artist, even if portions of it stunt its listeners. Not everyone necessarily looks for ways to be challenged by the music they listen to; some folks just want to hear what sounds good and what they can sing along to.  For those people, Fancies of a Random Heart will do just fine, while offering just enough substance to keep it from being disposable MOR music to the rest of us.


Annie B & The Vagabond Co. are performing October 14th at Shank Hall. Go to anniebmusic.com for more details.