The Brightness

Review "...Mitchell's compositions are undeniably lovely. They...drag listeners in with a fiery earnestness that demands notice." -- Exclaim! (Canada), March 2007 "Girlishly sprite and brimming with innocence, her singing brings to mind the hippie-throwback charm of Victoria Williams..." -- No Depression, Mar-April 2007 "Mitchell is a talented songwriter, who pens songs about characters and lives that, though short, are vivid and emotive." -- Venus Zine, Spring 2007 "Vibrant, precocious, unique and striking, her vocal presence makes an immediate impression. ...intensely personal, passionate and literate lyrics..." -- PopMatters.com; April 2007 ...brilliantly intertwines the mundane and the profound... vivid snapshots of sweetly ordinary moments spin suddenly outward to bemoan eternal woes... -- Boston Globe, January 25, 2007 ...combines the best of classic female folksingers like Joni no-relation Mitchell with the precocious spirit of neo-psych phenom Joanna Newsom. -- Boston Phoenix, January 30, 2007 ...simple acoustic tunes made full with intricate, poetic lyrics...with a voice that's simultaneously innocent and just a little wounded. -- Burlington [VT] Free Press, February 8, 2007 ...the earthiness of Shawn Colvin, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco. -- Allmusic.com Product Description Our product to treat is a regular product. There is not the imitation. From Japan by the surface mail because is sent out, take it until arrival as 7-14 day. Thank you for you seeing it. About the Artist Listening to singer/songwriter Anais Mitchell perform her meticulously written songs, fervently singing them in a distinctive, almost childlike voice, you'd think it was her life mission to rouse the hearts and minds of her listeners with an acoustic guitar. But Mitchell wasn't always committed to the idea. "I used to tell people I wanted to be a journalist. There is a lonely egotism and self-composure to journalists. Not unlike artists, they're always traveling, always writing, loving their loneliness, feeling somehow that they have their finger on the pulse--worshipping the truth and trying to render it legible." Despite her journalistic leanings, Mitchell started writing songs at age 17 and eventually started performing them live during her school days, which were punctuated by a remarkable amount of traveling. In a short period of time, Anaïs made several trips to the Middle East, and also spent time in Europe and Latin America, studying languages and world politics. This stunning, troubadour-like experience seeped into her music, and she became adept at fusing her passion for literature and journalism in her lyrics. With a clutch of quiet, ambitious songs in her arsenal, Mitchell recorded her now out-of-print debut, The Song They Sang When Rome Fell (2002), in a single afternoon in Austin, Texas. It was in Texas that Anaïs discovered the Kerrville Folk Festival, which honored her with the prestigious New Folk Award in 2003. Soon thereafter, with the help of Michael Chorney and Chicago-based Waterbug Records, Anaïs released her second album, Hymns For The Exiled, in 2004. The stirring collection of guitar and voice cemented Mitchell's status as a folksinger to watch, and the record eventually reached the ears of Ani DiFranco, a songwriter whose fusion of personal and political themes was a formative influence on a teenaged Mitchell. After seeing a few of Anaïs' captivating concerts, DiFranco signed the artist to her label, Righteous Babe Records. "If you knew what Ani DiFranco meant to me as a young woman and a young songwriter...well, I was simultaneously elated and in total disbelief," Mitchell told a Vermont reporter after joining the RBRrrmy. "It seemed too good to be true." The same can be said about Mitchell's Righteous Babe debut, The Brightness. During the recording process, Anaïs lived above the studio, which was built into an old Vermont gristmill. She could wake up, shake the sleep out of her eyes and record tracks in her pajamas, resulting in a decidedly intimate listening experience. Spilling over with worldly metaphors, intense emotions and unshakeable reverence to the art of song, The Brightness shimmers with creative spark.