Annie Mack’s music is uplifting, her voice is strong and she has an slow confidence that exudes cool. She opened her set Friday night at the Aster Café with Love, a slow, anticipatory song. Her voice is smooth with a depth. But it’s the assuredness that is so appealing.
She played songs from the new CD – Tell It Like It Is. Two highlights were Just Do Right and the CD namesake, Tell it Like it is. They are both upbeat and they seem to straddle a few genres – gospel, Americana and soul.
With Tell it Like it is, there’s a sassy redemption to the recovery story of the song and the tempo speeds to lift up your dancing toes as much as the story lifts the spirits. The back up vocals add to the build and the live version ends in a joyous rasp. Just Do Right has a self-righteous bossiness of a good friend setting you straight. Her voice is controlled and comforting so that there’s no edge, just wisdom coming through.
An added delight was Hey Momma, a slower song written for Mack’s mother and her experience raising two kids in North Minneapolis. The music is Americana. The voice is soul. That’s what makes for such an interesting blend.
It doesn’t hurt to have super talented musicians on stage including Joel Sayles, Noah Levy, Peter J Sands and Jon Herchert. It’s a glimpse and the wealth of musical talent we have in the Twin Cities!
Mostly Minnesota 