Grey Anne

It's Sara from blowin your cover doing a guest post outside my normal realm of music blogging. Today we will focus on Grey Anne (formerly known as Per Se) the musical moniker of Anne Adams. The name Grey Anne is a former nickname for Adams, her sister's name is Grace and their mother would begin to say "Grace" and then quickly correct it to "Anne" with the effect being "Grey-Anne." Grey Anne is a Portland based artist via Anacortes, Washington and has been a staple on the scene since the early 2000s.

Adams has a gorgeous pure voice reminiscent of a jazz singer or someone who has grown up on stage rather than in a studio, this is no surprise considering she spent many years in church choirs as well as memorizing musicals for fun. Musically the songs are sparse, mostly Adams' sweet voice over her crisp guitar with an occasional drum or cymbal which allows the listener to focus on the stories Adams is generously sharing with us.

I do mean generously as facts n figurines is Adams first release besides the single track "Adelaide" which appeared on the PDX Pop Now! Compilation all the way back in 2004. Adams has spent the last years concentrating on her live show with Per Se and Grey Anne creating a stage presence which involves fairy wings, stuffed animals and lawn ornaments as well as carefully crafting her beautiful, breezy, folky-pop songs.

On Grey Anne's myspace she compares her music to Steena Nordenstam, Mazzy Star, Blossom Dearie, Bjork and Suzanne Vega however the artist I hear most strongly is Mirah, as well as a bit of the recently blogged Dear Nora and a tad of Kate Nash (in her sparse demo form).

Grey Anne's long awaited debut album facts n figurines is due out November 11th on Greyday Records. If you are in the Portland area you can see her perform a handful of shows over the next couple months, the rest of us will have to continue to be patient and wait for a full-blown tour.

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