Ania Ziemirska
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | SELF
Music
Press
Toronto, ON singer-songwriter Ania Ziemirska is a less polished and more sedate version of Martha Wainwright meets Ani Difranco. She wisely begins her six-track EP with the cut that features her catchiest chorus line, "Ditched Romance." Following in its heels, "Fade Away" is a gentle ballad that, for better or worse, switches into '90s pop mode, while "Giving Love a Try" is a toe tapping number with a slight country nuance. The title track shifts rhythms so unexpectedly it can be off-putting, although the rhythmic whiplash might be a breath of fresh air. Although Ziemirska doesn't quite build, as much as ride, on the wave of countless female singer-songwriters of the '90s, "Lakeside Reels," the most compelling track on this middle-of-the-road EP, offers some indication that she is closing in on her own sound and holds promise that, as she forges ahead, producing more material, she'll find her place.
(Independent)
By Nereida Fernandes - Exclaim!
Discography
Acoustic Roots Sampler (short run, Fall 2009)
I Was The Girl EP (May 11, 2010)
Photos
Bio
"Be warned: this girl is armed with lyrics and she's not afraid to use them." - Bob Reid, Co-Host, CFRB's "In The Studio"
Ania Ziemirska was the girl that other kids teased. Smart, geeky, intense, and often overlooked by the cool crowd, the tenacious outsider, who didn't speak a word of English when she immigrated to Canada from Poland at the age of nine, found her solace from insecurity and loneliness in writing and performing songs.
What began as the teenaged poetry of love and luck has evolved over the last decade into a growing songbook of emotionally arresting, nakedly astute, and deftly crafted lyrical snapshots that linger long after the musical notes have faded.
Written over the course of a year in 2007-2008, her debut EP, I Was The Girl captures a pivotal moment in the evolution of an artist. At times wistful, at others rollicking, her songs pair universal fears, hopes, dreams and denials with insightful, imaginative folk, blues and pop-infused melodies in ways that seem, quite frankly, well beyond her years.
Ziemirska garners the inevitable comparisons – to Sarah McLachlan for her studied yet accessible tunesmithing, Chrissie Hynde for her whiskey and honey-dipped vocals, Natalie Merchant for her controlled yet passionate delivery and to Joni Mitchell for her exhaustive range – but there's always an extra something that makes Ziemirska's songs her own.
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