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Anna Nalick
Anna Nalick’s debut album, Wreck of the Day, is an amazing blend of soulful lyrics and musical mastery. The artist’s love of such performers as Blind Melon, John Mayer, and The Cranberries is easy to hear in her lyrics and music. The story and mood she’s able to present with her original lyrics give life to the music that is far beyond her years. While there’s definitely a pop, rock feel to the musicians work, other influences of Jazz, classic rock, and old standards play through the melody to bring an entirely new dimension to her sound.
Anna’s grandparents were Broadway performers, her grandmother having danced with Fred Astaire, and from them she got her first taste of the love of music. Later in life, strong influences of her parents’ favorites, such as Cream, Led Zepplin, and Elvis, helped shape her love of music and by the fifth grade, Nalick was writing her own songs. Starting with the lyrics, Nalick soon discovered that she could pick out chords from popular musicians’ songs and from there she put the talents together to create her own original music.
The first single, Breathe (2 AM), won Nalick immediate acclaim before the album was even released in 2005. There was a buzz surrounding her album release, though that eventually faded and not much was heard of Nalick on radio for a time. A new resurgence in interest in Nalick occurred with the inclusion of the full song in a 2006 episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The song is a soulful rendition of both poignant poetry and haunting lyrics which Nalick’s voice brings home in clear and beautiful tone.
The album contains such songs as Citadel, a portrayal of uncertainty and standing on the edge, afraid to move forward. It’s easy to identify with the lyrics, all of which are written by Nalick herself. She states that all of her music strikes a personal chord, though not all of the situations are ones she’s personally been through. She takes her inspiration from both her own life and the lives of those around her; situations she’s watched rather than experienced. In her voice, you would think every rendition is one she’s walked through, so evocative is the feeling in her performance.
Other songs on the album include Wreck of the Day, the title track and third single release which was also licensed to hit TV shows, Joan of Arcadia and One Tree Hill, Paper Bag, Satellite, Forever Love, In the Rough, and Consider This, to name a few.
Because of the mix of influence and heartfelt lyrics which really say something to each listener, Nalick’s music has been able to breach genre’s garnering attention from hard rockers, pop lovers, and R&B artists alike. Anna, though determined to pursue a music career since girlhood, decided to first attend college. Through luck, a friend who taught photography offered to give a track of her original music to a pupil’s parents who were in the music business. From there, Nalick was introduced Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith, members of Blind Melon and a new production team. From there, Nalick abandoned her college career in order to go into the studio to produce the album.
In November 2006, Anna Nalick won the “AC Female Artist of the Year” at the New Music Awards. She’s currently at work on her second album.
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