Album Review: Snow & Voices - Anything That Moves

I finally got the chance to listen to Snow & Voices' Anything That Moves over the weekend. In case you weren't aware, Snow & Voices is a collaboration between LA-based singer-songwriter Lauri Kranz and multi-instrumentalist Jebin Bruni. Anything That Moves is the band's third record to date.

Before I listened to the CD in its entirety, I only had a taste of 2 songs off the record (go here to read my review). It piqued my interest.

Kranz and Bruni roped in a number of musicians including Joey Waronker (Thom Yorke, Beck, REM), Joshua Grange (KD Lang, Dwight Yokaum), Chris Bruce (Michelle Ndegeocello, Joe Henry), Jennifer Condos (Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams), Blair Sinta (Damien Rice, My Brightest Diamond), Cedric LeMoyne (O+S), Gregory Slay (Remy Zero), Jeffrey Cain (Dead Snares), Vanessa Freebairn-Smith (Gnarls Barkley) and Brian MacLeod (Paul Westerberg, Sheryl Crow) to contribute to this album.

The subject matter revolves around love and breakups. It is a good soundtrack to put on when you are nursing a broken heart or when you need to take a breather. That said, it is a good record -- but not exceedingly so.

One of my favourite songs is the opener "Maybe Finland", which puts me at ease with its gentle and soothing sound. "Blue", slow and soft, reminds me of Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan.

The emotionally-charged "I Am A Storm" pushes the boundaries a little. In the chorus, Kranz repeatedly announces that she is the storm, perhaps as a parting shot to an ex-lover. The album flows along, closing with "Please Be My Lover", which sounds like a heartfelt plea for love after all that heartbreaking mess.

Bruni has crafted a brilliantly textured aural landscape while Kranz's vocals have been described as 'ethereal'. There is no doubt that this is a quiet and contemplative album to listen to. However, while the record is cohesive and has a clear theme, the band probably needs to step out of their conventional adult-contemporary cum dream-pop mould and push the envelope to ensure they etch themselves into the minds of listeners.