A Lot on My Crate

She hails from Los Angeles, one that is named Annahstasia Enuke. A very talented artist with their foot in the door of many crafts, she signed a record deal at the early age of 17. She shared some thoughts with Crack Magazine, that she hasn’t been a good fit with the industry and she knew in her heart, that her hunger as a musical artist hasn’t come to light at that age. Come years later, Annahstasia took the reins and independently released her works being some singer-songwriter EPs, which the genre seems to be her forte. I’ve stumbled onto this album many months after its release last June and I am grateful I discovered Tether now. For a debut album, Annahstasia has absolutely got me in a spell with this chamber folk album. It’s so impressive that this is her first album being released right out the gate, that carries so much emotional weight. There are some minimal winds, keys, and percussion instruments used here and there, but mostly acoustic guitar has been the bread and butter of this quiet and intimate LP. But the star and primary weapon used here is Annahstasia’s captivating voice that makes you drop everything what you’re doing and listen to her dulcet tones. I see the comparisons online with folk singer Kara Jackson being her contemporary. Her voice is at a tenor range with husky and smoky qualities, which she has stated was tough to work with production wise until she found the right audio engineer. But the stage that is utilized in Tether is so open and still, that you can feel every breath of emotion she pushes into her lyrics. You are taken to a room to be alone with both her and your thoughts. She takes advantages of the pauses between bars and lets us process in silence. There are times in this album I clench my lips and shut my eyes on how great the song writing and musical highs gets in this. If this album reaches your soul, then that’s because you have the self-reflection and emotional depth to resonate with this album. It does many wonders.

“Be Kind” sounds like a bittersweet goodbye to a person that she wishes to mend the cracks between them. The second half is such a soft moment and an epiphany on how much she already has changed. “Villain” with its cinematic crescendo from start to finish takes us to an emotional peak. This other person has done her wrong with the line, “You think you’re some single judging jury”, yet she’ll gladly take the badge of villain in this story with great pride despite of what really happened. “Unrest” has us looking outside the windowsill with arms folded around us. Why worry about the outside that might hurt us, as long as that person we care about is here with us? “Take Care of Me” are gentle hands manifested to take care of this fragile being. Annahstasia describes herself as porcelain, pleading she might get damaged by someone who doesn’t care as much. Then we have our man, Obongjayar being a feature on “Slow”. Excited he’s collaborating with high talents and I’m excited to talk about another collab he’s done with Little Simz (post coming soon *wink *wink). Obongjayar matches Annahstasia’s energy and is locked in with her serenity and grace. Their chemistry is strong and the chorus is haunting, as they’re being passed back and forth on both pairs of my ears into a strong outro. “Waiting” has this country rock flair with someone’s patience being tested and wavered for a loved one who might not return. “Overflow” is the most lively of the whole album with this energetic strumming of the guitar. Powerful lines like “Everybody knows the child prodigy, but who’s saving space for the goldfish in her cage?” makes the persecution very tangible. Annahstasia just pours her heart out for this person that she’s made sacrifices for and wanting them to hear that. Will this love be reciprocated? Or will it be unrequited? After a spoken word poetry interlude, we go into “Silk and Velvet” that starts off with Annahstasia saying she’s tired. She’s tired of all the horrific things happening around her and copes by becoming someone who is not a moralist and an anti-capitalist. The ending leaves us hanging and it suddenly makes her a different person than before, maybe someone who follows the status quo, but with more resolve and self-awareness. Even though, “Satisfy Me” hasn’t left me satisfied, the album did stick the landing with the last song with “Believer”. The tone on the closer shows the character is much more resilient, but her bond for the other does not weaken. The question she asks as the song dies out shows how much more love she has can give. Thank goodness the LP ends in an emotional high.

Not only “Satisfy Me” sounds not as interesting instrumentally as the other songs, but the songwriting doesn’t get a hold of me as the others do. But other than that. There are few caveats for me in this album.

For anyone looking for peace or has found peace, I am telling you to give this a spin. Just thinking about the creative boost she got from this album makes me excited with anticipation if Tether is the bar. It’s about someone who is not afraid of who they are. The album being quiet doesn’t mean it’s weak. Its emotion is its strength. They embrace themselves. In that Crack Magazine interview, Annahstasia attributes her creativity of Tether to trying to find her ground with her Nigerian roots. She states she found some of it in her singing with some regions of Nigeria. It has healed her. So, now she has found her peace and is able to pluck our heartstrings with her lovely sound. If there’s something that anchors you down, Annahstasia is telling us you can let go of this emotional tether. Because even though the world and its people can be such a pain, there is no weakness in letting go.

FAVORITE TRACKS: BE KIND, VILLAIN, UNREST, SLOW, WAITING, OVERFLOW, SILK AND VELVET, BELIEVER

LEAST FAVORITE: SATISFY ME

You can purchase this album on Bandcamp and her discography is also available for streaming.

https://annahstasia.bandcamp.com/album/tether