MADELEINE PEYROUX — Anthem (2018) SHM-CD | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Having already transitioned from traditional acoustic jazz and blues to her own eclectic folk- and pop-leaning originals on past albums, Madeleine Peyroux once again embraces the latter on 2018's Anthem. Named after the Leonard Cohen song that she covers with emotive precision here, Anthem finds the former busker turned chanteuse collaborating with a team of highly regard musicians, arrangers, and songwriters including longtime producer and multi-instrumentalist Larry Klein, guitarist and primary lyricist David Baerwald, organist Patrick Warren, and drummer Brian MacLeod. Also joining in at various times are guitarist Dean Parks, saxophonist Chris Cheek, drummer Jay Bellerose, and vocalist Luciana Souza (who does not sing but instead adds subtle percussion accents), and others. Although capable of tackling standards and traditional songs with a sophisticated lyricism, Peyroux is, at her core, a bohemian storyteller, a folksinger in the vein of Cohen and Rickie Lee Jones and Cohen. While some listeners may prefer her more acoustic, jazz-oriented albums, many of her songs on Anthem achieve a similar level of nuance and sophistication. This is especially true on the Harry Nilsson-esque "All My Heroes," in which she ruminates on discovering the imperfection of one's idols. She sings "All my heroes were failures in their eyes/Losers, drunkards, fallen saints, and suicides." Similarly engaging is "The Brand New Deal," in which she croons with wry cynicism about modern capitalist culture against a breezy, Steely Dan-sounding fusion groove. There's also a knowingly cheeky -- even kitschy -- quality to some of the tracks, as on the twangy, baritone guitar-led Latin lounge number "Honey Party." She also takes a similarly cheeky approach on the buoyant "On a Sunday Afternoon," in which she expounds upon the medicinal freedoms of the weekend, singing "Oh yeah, its a Sunday afternoon/Got Cap'n Crunch, and reefer, and old cartoons." There are also several dusky, literate moments -- including the languidly hopeful "We Might as Well Dance" -- that, as with much of Anthem, seem to speak to Peyroux's particularly Zen view of the world.  Matt Collar
Tracklist :
1    On My Own 4:06
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
2    Down On Me 5:00
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
3    Party Tyme    4:37
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
4    Anthem 5:25
Written-By – Leonard Cohen
5    All My Heroes    3:59
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
6    On A Sunday Afternoon    4:17
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
7    The Brand New Deal    4:57
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
8    Lullaby    5:22
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
9    Honey Party    4:01
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
10    The Ghosts Of Tomorrow    4:14
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
11    We Might As Well Dance 3:17
Drums, Percussion – Jay Bellerose
 David Baerwald / Larry Klein / Brian Macleod / Madeleine Peyroux / Patrick Warren
12    Liberté 4:32
Arranged By – Larry Klein, Madeleine Peyroux
Mixed By – Roderick Shearer
Written-By – Paul Éluard
– BONUS TRACK –
13    Last Night When We Were Young    5:44
Credits :
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar, Backing Vocals, Other [Guilele], Guitar [High strung] – Dean Parks
Backing Vocals – Clydene Jackson, Julia Tillman Waters, Maxine Waters
Bass, Keyboards, Percussion, Guitar, Backing Vocals, Producer – Larry Klein
Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Brian MacLeod
Duduk – Jivan Gasparyan Jr.
Electric Guitar, Guitar [Nylon], Backing Vocals – David Baerwald
Harmonica – Gregoire Maret
Organ [Hammond], Backing Vocals – Pete Kuzma
Piano, Electric Piano, Dulcitone, Harmonium, Backing Vocals – Patrick Warren
Tambourine, Triangle, Shaker, Percussion – Luciana Souza
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Chris Cheek
Trombone – Andy Martin
Trumpet – Gabriel Johnson
Trumpet, Backing Vocals – John "Scrapper" Sneider
Vocals, Other [Guilele], Artwork By – Madeleine Peyroux