Anni Rossi: Afton

Anni Rossi lives and dies on “character”. Her music is awash with the accents of classical instrumentation and narrative songwriting, and she mostly pulls off her complex compositions with style. Employing bassoon for bass and a varied combination of stringed, pizzicato and electronic effects, Rossi crafts compelling if a little slapdash songs. She occasionally aims at the self-consciously goofy delivery of Regina Spektor, as on the programmatic “Ecology”, where she blows through her lips and even imitates animal noises. But on her more relaxed material she has an easy grace reminiscent of the Blow, and “Wheelpusher” and “Central Utah”, which close this EP, are a convincing promise. Rossi’s recorded a full-length that should be out early this year; it will be worth keeping a lookout for.