Album of the Week: Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety

Band: Autre Ne Veut
Album: Anxiety
Label: Software
Release Date: February 12, 2013

On his second Autre Ne Veut LP, Arthur Ashin summons R&B and karaoke in an over-the-top evocation of break-up balladry.

Arthur Ashin —the 30-year-old Brooklynite behind Autre Ne Veut— cites karaoke as the 'primary influence' on his music. Part of this comes due to the nature of his liveshows: like so many one-man-band types, Ashin performs on stage with no band, instead singing —in his wild wail— over playback. When punters describe this (actually really ballsy) set-up as "like karaoke," it's meant as a criticism; but Ashin turns it into a virtue. As with actual karaoke, letting loose with mic in hand allows Ashin to play up this performative aspect of his singing, amplifying it with a kind of conceptual over-exaggeration...

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