Name: If You’re Dreaming
Brand: Anna Burch

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

HVNLP177CD

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2020-04-03

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

5400863022686

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Total Cap

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Anna Burch

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Heavenly Recordings

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Welcome to Heavenly Recordings, the home of innovative and boundary-pushing music. With a rich history spanning several decades, Heavenly has established itself as a leading label in the industry. As the proud ℗ and © rights holder for all Heavenly releases, we strive to bring you exceptional music that pushes the boundaries of creativity and captivates your senses.

Heavenly Recordings is more than just a label; it's a movement. We have been at the forefront of discovering and nurturing talented artists who challenge conventions and redefine genres. Our roster includes some of the most influential names in contemporary music, from indie rock legends to electronic pioneers.

At Heavenly, we believe in giving our artists creative freedom while providing them with unparalleled support and guidance. This approach has resulted in numerous critically acclaimed albums that have left an indelible mark on the music landscape.

When Anna Burch introduced herself on her 2018 debut Quit The Curse, it was with a concentrated wash of energetic, serotonin-boosting pop. Jangly guitars, blithe vocal harmonies and an occasional undercurrent of grungy fuzz all converged in seemingly straightforward songs that hid their complexities under sunny hooks. The impact of the songs was immediate and exciting, presenting narratives of confusion and upheaval with melodies so bright it was hard to do anything but smile. Two years later, Burch’s follow up If You’re Dreaming takes us down a different path than its predecessor, shedding some nervous energy in favour of a deeper exploration of an internal world.

If You’re Dreaming was tracked with producer Sam Evian in his home studio in the Catskill mountains of upstate New York. Where the first album had been a rush of inspired songwriting followed by a drawn-out process of arrangement and mixing, Burch and Evian worked with self-imposed time limitations to establish a sharper focus and get to the core of the new songs. The work was swift but somehow more relaxed, locking into a groove of tracking the basic elements and then expanding on the arrangements with overdubs and auxiliary instrumentation. The end goal was to present not just an assortment of new songs, but craft an album that moved dynamically through an interconnected emotional arc. With recurring themes of isolation, weariness and longing, these songs deliver that emotional arc with a delicate but uncompromising execution. Burch’s intrinsically catchy songwriting dials down the urgency of her debut a notch, taking a turn towards airy, jazz-voiced chords, floating reverb and an expansion of the sonic palate with unexpected instrumentation. The soft-rock bass grooves and understated saxophone lines of Not So Bad push an impressive pop structure into exciting new territory, and the sweetly melancholic Tell Me What’s True centers around muted electric piano, its languid but metered vibe recalling the gentler side of Carole King.

The nuance of arrangements that could sometimes get buried on Quit The Curse rises to the surface on patient, opulent tunes like Every Feeling and in the twelve-string guitar hooks of Party’s Over. The album drifts dreamily as much as it hones in with a sharper clarity on some of Burch’s most personal songs.

Even at its most introverted, If You’re Dreaming is always warm and present. It’s a deliberately drawn chapter of Burch’s work, trading in the wild-eyed and sometimes neurotic party hopping of Quit The Curse for a more solitary walk after midnight. Daring and clear-headed, these songs cut deeper in their subtleties. If You’re Dreaming moves with intention, taking its time revealing new layers of sophistication and growth in Burch’s always charming songcraft.

If You’re Dreaming

Music GB

Buy Anna Burch - If You’re Dreaming (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.