ALTHOUGH A debut solo album, Michigan native Anna Burch is not a new entry to indie-rock, given she was a member of Frontier Ruckus, and has appeared on their albums since 2008.
Frontier Ruckus's roots orientated leanings can be detected in the languid, poignant, old-style country of 'Belle Isle', which recalls the confusion and delight of a new relationship, with pathos and humour: "I'm love sick and sun burnt, and summer is only beginning."
Quit The Curse though is mostly about Burch striking out on her own. Her music has feet firmly placed in indie-rock that is highly melodic, with a real knack for catchy choruses ('2 Cool 2 Care', 'Tea-Soaked Letter' ); yet which also creates an aura of indie DIY roughness and looseness - despite being, in reality, sharp and tight. Think of it as posited between Julianna Hatfield, Angel Olsen, and the tunefulness of late 1950s/early 1960s American pop ('In Your Dreams' ).
Lyrically, the album is a journey through a series of relationships - some uncertain, some fondly remembered, others not - to a point where Burch can declare, on 'What I Want': "I won't play the victim, just because I can't get what I want" (and what relevance that line has in these charged socio-political times! ), to some kind of resolution, albeit one tinged with confrontation and doubt: "The blood dries. It's in the past. I'll let go if you say so" (the indie-rock masterclass of 'Yeah You Know' ).
Quit The Curse is just 33 minutes, but that short time is enough for Burch to show her mastery of craft, melody, emotion, and the indie form.
