Anne Heaton

SOUL CELLS On Anne Heaton's fourth solo record, Honeycomb, the former Bostonian offers her most eccentric work.

Singer and keyboardist Anne Heaton never wanted to be a solo artist, but it's been that way since her first album in 2002. "The vision that I have is that I'd always be playing with a string quartet, a full band, and a small gospel choir," half-jokes the former Boston artist, who recently moved to Chicago to start a family. Traveling alone is an economic reality for a touring musician. No bandmates fill her car, but different musical friends are there to join her on-stage in different cities.

Also, solitude might just be the best situation for an artist who likes to do what she wants. No bass player in the mixing room with a greedy hand on the volume knob. No collaborator trying to get you to be more Björk-ish. But this free-wheeling freedom that comes with no big-label pressure can make a bohemian songwriter go perfectly nuts. Honeycomb, Heaton's forthcoming release (and her fourth overall), is her most eccentric work yet. Produced by Hem's Gary Maurer and Q Division's Mike Denneen, the album features Heaton's own open-hearted originals mixed with a wide range of outside elements, including collaborations with NYC-songwriter Neil Cleary, musical adaptations of two poems by 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi, an adaptation of the Catholic "Saint Francis Prayer," a field-recording of a conversation with her father, and let's not forget that tactfully minimalist cover of Coldplay's "Viva La Vida."

When asked how she knows when songs are right for her, Heaton says simply, "If I love them." It's a subjective criterion if there ever was one, but for an artist who operates on instincts, heeding one's whimsy isn't such a bad thing. "In the past I wasn't letting other people into the creative process," explains Heaton, regarding the direction of her new album. And in her mind, letting in influential figures from the past and present adds newfound richness. This doesn't just include Cleary, Chris Martin, and Heaton's father (who provides a link to her grandfather, the protagonist for the tear-jerker "Last Drive"), but also voices long-gone, such as Rumi and Saint Francis, who Heaton brings to sit with her on the bench of her gently worn Fender Rhodes.

Heaton's husky voice is a steadying force as we skitter with her across the flotsam and jetsam of her life. Where "Last Drive" offers a sketch of an old man returning to the town of his youth, "Sin Verguenza" reveals a woman's involvement with a Spanish soap; and with a lyric like "You haven't chosen between your live-in beau and your ex-husband/But you always look good for both of them," it's hard to know which song is more true to life. Mixing a little profane in with the sacred might just be a thing here. At first, the Coldplay selection comes across as a callow dime in the jukebox, but its use of archaic fixtures (kings, castles, etc.) sets the stage for Heaton's journey into the eternal.

"I was aware of it but never paid attention to it growing up," says Heaton of the Saint Francis Prayer; transformed here subliminally into a verdant mediation of choral voices worthy of standing side-by-side with Rumi's timeless works. "The message is not religious. It's about kindness and love, and not an ordinary state of love." She explains that, like the Coldplay song, this prayer kept serendipitously popping up in the playlist of her life — on a mass card, behind her mattress on the floor. She loved it, and so it made it into this Honeycomb. And that's all it took.

ANNE HEATON | Club Passim, 47 Palmer St, Cambridge | August 30 @ 8 pm | 18+ | $20 | 617.492.7679


By Jonathan Donaldson | August 23, 2012 - BOSTON PHOENIX

Honeycomb
Record Label: Spill Records
by John Noyd
Review published: September 2012

Tactfully adapting Sufi verse, Catholic prayers and Coldplay, a harmonically rich singer-songwriter, Heaton squeezes playfully dainty pop topped in warm intimate folk; joyous voyages from a smart, sweet songbird. Dripping in graceful haste and melodic valentines, “Honeycomb,” springs, swims and sasses challenges, turning perceptive memories into luscious pillow-talk, hip sophisticated whimsy into Christmas wishes and heady editorial into cozy poetry. - MAXIMUM INK

ANNE HEATON: Before uprooting to the Chicago area in 2010, Heaton was among Boston’s most beloved singer-songwriters, a fixture around town at places like Club Passim. For this homecoming show, Heaton will be celebrating the release of “Honeycomb,” the latest addition to her catalog of sophisticated folk-pop...

By James Reed | August 30, 2012 - BOSTON GLOBE

(4 stars)
Folk-leaning singer/songwriter Anne Heaton makes music that has a timeless feel. The songs on her 13-track "Honeycomb" could well have been written in the 1970s and they wouldn't have lost an ounce of their effectiveness. This album is No. 4 for the Boston native and her appealing, piano-based approach earned Heaton supporting gigs with the likes of Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and Jonatha Brooke.

Perhaps "Honeycomb" is the record that will take Heaton's career to the next level. Standouts "The Alchemist," "I Still Love You," "Watching You Win," "Last Drive," "Sin Verguenza" and "Prayer for Saint Francis" are terrific and have helped Heaton earn a place on my iPod.

by Jeffrey Sisk | October 16, 2012 - MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS (McKeesport, PA)

With a blend of soft pop, smooth blues, and porch folk, singer-songwriter Anne Heaton tailors songs to her specific vocal measurements personalizing each track on her fourth solo album Honeycomb. For instance, her rendition of Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" displays the elasticity in her vocals which bends and shapes the melodic patterns on a berth of sparse beats and liquidity guitar chords making the song her own.

Produced by Gary Maurer (Hem), Mike Denneen (Aimee Mann), and Heaton, Honeycomb molds facets of pop, folk, and blues into a pleasing listening album. The traipsing accordion-tinted notes of "The Alchemist" threading through the rhythmic pumps produce a nursery rhyme pattern. The brushed drum strokes of the title track are soothing, morphing into the trundling movements of "I Still Love You." The shuffling beats of "Watching You Win" have a rustic folk vibe as Heaton paints a picture of youthful idolizing of a heroic figure, "You showed us who we could be / We were so afraid 'til we saw you give it a try / You know you made us brave / You made us smile."

The smoky, jazz-accented horns in "As You Are" complement Heaton's bluesy voicing, shifting into a cotillion of delicate strings in "Two Human-Sized Wedding Candles" as the wispy waves of Heaton's vocals amplify the gentleness of the track and contrast the bright atmospherics and upbeat grooves of "Losses of Her Ancestors." Heaton creates musical adaptations of two poems penned by 13th century mystic Rumi, blanketing "Pearl Become Powder" in mellow piano furls and cradling "Prayer of Saint Francis" in tender musings.

Heaton's music has a likeness to the artists whom her producers have worked with previously, but she also lets her individuality show. Honeycomb crisscrosses genres into a pleasing hybrid.

-Susan Frances | September 2012 - HYBRID Magazine

Singer-songwriter Anne Heaton is halfway through telling a story at the Middle East Upstairs, when suddenly she realizes just how silly and crazy it sounds. She's talking about how in order to write a song a day, she used to keep big stacks of notes for inspiration. But when she finally read the notes, sometimes she had no idea what they meant or couldn't read her own handwriting. So she burned them in her fireplace, she says. Then, in front of a full audience, she gets self-conscious and laughs nervously.

''Isn't that traumatic, or do you do that, too?" she asks aloud. The audience chuckles, and from then on, it seems Heaton has primed the crowd for her confessional tales that often lay her thoughts painstakingly bare.

Later, over baklava and red wine that makes her slightly giggly, she admits that she likes the anonymity of performing live. Does that mean she relates better to a big audience than to individuals, especially people she doesn't know that well? ''Oh, no, I love strangers," she says with wide eyes. ''I like strangers much more than anyone I know."

Heaton, who plays Club Passim Saturday and Sunday, is a New York-based musician by way of Chicago. She's a piano player and is fully aware of the inevitable comparisons to fellow ivory ticklers such as Tori Amos or Fiona Apple. Heaton will hardly be mistaken for either, however, and it's also refreshing to hear a female songwriter who doesn't remind you of Ani DiFranco. Heaton's voice has a hiccup-like quality, an instrument that fades in and out without warning and can cut one syllable into two.

Heaton has more of a pop sensibility with an affinity for strong harmonies and hook-laden arrangements. Songs from her latest album, ''Give In," usually begin with a solitary image, such as the opening lines of the title track: ''Am I strong enough/ Am I weak enough/ To know what part of this love/ I could give in to/ I could give in to you." Then the lyric devolves into a very singable chorus complete with overdubbed harmonies.

She performs with Frank Marotta Jr., a guitarist whom she met while attending City College in New York. Although they share an intimate camaraderie onstage (close harmonies, knowing glances), Heaton says they're just buddies. Besides, she's married to the man whom she followed to New York eight years ago.

Heaton says she never expected to make a living as a musician, even though she was a classically trained pianist who by 18 had decided to give it up entirely. ''Part of it was that I overly studied piano starting when I was three," she says, adding that her parents never pushed her into a being a prodigy. ''No, I just told my mom I wanted to do it, and she was so floored."

In the meantime, she was listening to everyone from Joni Mitchell to Peter Gabriel and wishing that she could touch someone the way Gabriel's lyrics had touched her. ''I wanted and needed to figure out how to approach the piano as a songwriter," she says.

She found that approach through years of eclectic training. She ran a music and arts program for youth in Chicago, and later she played piano in a Latin band. Upon moving to New York she joined a Harlem gospel choir led by John Motley; that participation led to a European tour with jazz drummer Max Roach. She's been devoted to music full-time for the past two years, during which she has opened for folks such as Jewel and Joe Pernice.

Lately, she's been concentrating on performing in New England, after realizing that the Boston area has a long history of nurturing artists such as herself. Plus, her new label, Q Division Records, is based in Brighton. ''I like performing here," she says. ''It's obviously a very good place to be if you're a singer-songwriter, so I guess somehow it makes sense to be living in New York but coming to New England often."

By James Reed, Globe correspondent | May 5, 2005 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

Nothing would stunt singer-songwriter Anne Heaton's career faster than emotional closure in her personal life or the one she's dreamed up. Happy endings, after all, would make "Give In" a very dull disc.

Fortunately, Heaton, a Chicago-bred, classically trained pianist with a tart, tuneful voice, nearly always sounds a bit unhinged on her sophomore release, still grappling with relationships and a move to Manhattan. She writes love songs, all right, but they're often spiked with irony, anguish and ambivalence. Try this on for size, the opening verse to "Make You Sad": "Christmastime makes you confess you wanted to be mine / You lower your head / The other eleven months / I can forget but for the holidays." Or check out "Hey New York," one of two live tracks on "Give In." It finds Heaton celebrating Manhattan and yet longing for Chicago at the same time: "Maybe I'll go home where people are humble and strong / And they get the best stuff like Second City and Steppenwolf / And maybe that's because they know the difference between talent and attitude / And there are rarely any breast implants / Jenny McCarthy was our only one."

With a big assist from guitarist and fellow tunesmith Frank Marotta Jr., Heaton comes up with a series of engaging pop arrangements for her lyrics --tender, amusing, barbed and spiritual by turns. Nothing is neatly resolved, but that suits Heaton's talents just fine.

By Mike Joyce | Friday, April 15, 2005 - THE WASHINGTON POST

"A pair of rising singer-songwriters opened [Jewel's] show. First off was folksy Anne Heaton, accompanied only by a keyboard and a soaring, rich voice. Though her set was short, clocking in under 20 minutes, Heaton is a natural performer whose songs, like Jewel's, encapsulate various slice-of-life moments."

By Tina Potterf, Seattle Times Staff Reporter - SEATTLE TIMES

New York-based singer/songwriter Anne Heaton claims a huge influence from Peter Gabriel's textural approach to recording, but it's clear when listening to the layered soulfulness of her most recent release, Black Notebook, that she has also picked up on Gabriel's uncanny ability to write songs that go straight for the heart (and we're not talking "Big Time" or "Sledgehammer" here). Like Gabriel's music, you can peel back the layers of Heaton's songs one at a time to reveal passionate, memorable numbers that would stand alone without the additives (Heaton, in fact, plays regularly in solo, duo and full-band formations). The singer/pianist grew up in Chicago before moving to NYC, where she hit the open mic scene and also picked up some more tips on how to make music stirring from the Gospel Choir of Harlem, with whom she performed. That connection led her to legendary jazzman Max Roach, resulting in work on a tour of Europe with the drummer/composer's band. Heaton poignantly pulls all of those experiences (plus her other non-"on-the-job" influences like Sinead O'Connor, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos and Tom Petty) into her own music, but she seems to take more abstract, spiritual cues from those teachers; instead of simply mimicking them. Heaton's sound has a distinct personality, resulting in a deceptively simple, moving approach that is all her own. Her personal, intimate lyrics match the visceral tone of her music perfectly, resonating with beguiling depth that captures your attention and never lets go. The growing acclaim Heaton is receiving from the industry and critics is wholly deserved.

By Mike Breen | February 25, 2004 - CINCINNATI CITYBEAT

What leads me to become so excited about seeing a singer- songwriter at her keyboards and playing them no less? Could it be getting sick of having lip synching “singers” with little or no talent shoved down my throat? I think it is, and one the people helping me recover from this sick feeling is triple threat Anne Heaton.

Anne Heaton calls New York home and I found her opening for Melissa Ferrick at Slim’s on March 1st. Armed with her joyous spirit, booming voice, personal lyrics and sparse arrangements on her keyboard, she treated Melissa’s fans to a couple of songs from her debut CD Black Notebook and some new melodies as well. The crowd received her well, but it was obvious that they were waiting for the headliner and at times the set was plagued by stray voices talking over the music (rude girls and boys that insist on coming to music shows and talk during performances kill me!).

Anne’s first song was from Black Notebook, Spinning, and she mesmerized all with the simplicity of her strong vocals, her basic keyboard arrangement and the support from Melissa Ferrick's handclaps and harmonies. I think Melissa did Spinning with Anne to let the crowd know she had been fully endorsed.

The audience, who had already asked for something more upbeat, readily accepted Anne’s title track, Black Notebook; these women wanted to rock! The crowd responded enthusiastically when Ferrick's drummer, Brian Winton, came out to help on this song. The words from Black Notebook can indeed be interpreted as a passage from Anne’s very own diary they’re that personal: “Oh, I fell in love with a woman that day and it made me feel ugly ‘cause we’re the same except she’s so much better…”

She was given enough time to offer up five songs that sparkled amidst the minimalist makeup of this particular live setting but to witness the complete metamorphosis of Anne’s songs that extend from enchanting simplicity to layered and marvelous complexity a listen to her CD Black Notebook is in order.

In an attempt to sum her up: Anne Heaton is more of a storyteller than Norah Jones and definitely in the same category as far as talent and vocal range.

By Cecilia Populus-Eudave | March 1, 2003 - NEWSPAPERTAXI.COM

Singer-songwriter Anne Heaton originally hails from Chicago and said her upbringing in Illinois has had an effect on her songwriting.

“I would say in terms of lyrical content and my attitude in life is more down to earth, being from the Midwest definitely comes through,” she said. “I’m actually writing a song right now that’s like, ‘should I live in New York or live in Chicago?’”

After leaving Chicago to pursue a music career in the Big Apple, Heaton is now conflicted about where to call home. “In high school, I didn’t feel like [Chicago] was a good place for me creatively,” Heaton said.“In New York you can dream the most preposterous dream. You can tell all your friends you’re going to paint the subway cars purple and they’ll be like, ‘cool you should do that.’ But people in Chicago are more realistic. If you said something like that in Chicago, they would be like, ‘you’re out of your mind, it’s never going to work, what the hell are you talking about.’ It’s a different mindset.

“However, if I lived in Chicago as an adult, there are so many wonderful things going on there, I think I would have different feelings. I’m still processing it as my 18-year-old idea of what it was like to hang out with other high school kids in Chicago.”

Wherever Heaton decides to call home, she has established herself as a respected singer-songwriter. Last September, she released her first full studio album, “Black Notebook.”

The recording process was very fulfilling because I always wanted the songs to be more lush than they are,” Heaton said. “With a live record or performing live you get a lot of the energy and you get the essence of the song, but I wanted to add a lot of other instruments and play with a lot of other people.

“I learned a lot making it and I was really happy with the finished project.”

While a lot of modern singer-songwriters go for a sparse, minimalist kind of sound, Heaton takes a different approach.

“I really want the sound to be big,” she said. “I know some singer-songwriters do too, but maybe for economic reasons they tour alone. Ultimately, I would like to play with more people. Right now, I try to create a sound with just two people that is pretty lush.”

For Heaton, the songwriting process can be a cathartic experience. “Sometimes I’ll be struggling with something and through writing lyrics it’s like conflict resolution,” she said. “I am sort of obsessed with paradoxes and I work it out by writing. The song ‘Take Your Desire,’ is exploring the paradox between jealousy, freedom and desire. “I like to write songs to help me look at things in the world in a new way and maybe I can communicate that to other people, but I would hope that people just enjoy the songs for the sound of them. If you want to get a deeper meaning, great, but I hope it is fun just to listen to."

“My favorite thing is to finish a song and feel like it’s exactly what you wanted to say and take it out and perform it. Then it feels like such a relief and it feels great to communicate.”

Heaton will get a chance to communicate with the B-N crowd Saturday when she plays a show at Illinois Wesleyan’s Blue Moon Coffeehouse.

By Lucas Pyzik - THE DAILY VIDETTE (Normal, IL)

On Black Notebook, Anne Heaton combines a healthy sense of New England songwriter folk and college radio-ready verve with a lovely vocal timbre. Heaton combines her earthy, bluesy delivery (that she no doubt refined while touring with jazz great Max Roach and singing in a Harlem gospel choir) with a cosmopolitan selection of ambient, thickly textured tracks and arrangements.

The result is a record that is alternately lush, sweet, funny and sorrowful. In the trip-hop-tinged "Take Your Desire," Heaton almost sounds like Macy Gray at times. She switches from Midwestern high school girl for "Megan & Kevin" to Tori Amos intensity fo "I Want to Fly."

By Clay Steakley - PERFORMING SONGWRITER

Anne Heaton's songs are nothing if not evocative. Possessing a guided passion that never missteps, she brings you close enough to the fire to feel its warmth and see the excitement but never close enough to get burned. Heaton has a multi-textured approach to songs and songwriting, much like one of her heroes, Peter Gabriel.

The warm, unique sound of her voice, along with her unfussy piano playing, moves something within the listener, be it a memory or a hope. Heaton and longtime musical partner Frank Marotta Jr. recently finished up their new album, Give In, with producer Mike Denneen (Aimee Mann, Guster, Fountains of Wayne).

Dig It: Chrissie Hynde, Macy Gray, cool lemonade with a sprig of mint on a hot day

By Dale Johnson | September 22, 2004 - CINCINNATI CITYBEAT

The luminous tones of singer/songwriter Anne Heaton were readily absorbed by attentive ears last Saturday evening in an unusual setting for a concert. Her calming, compelling voice was greeted by a hushed and grateful silence throughout her performance in an ordinary West Allis living room. Heaton's refreshing vulnerability, unmasked in her honest dialogue, seemed to flow from her being. She was accompanied by guitarist and vocal partner Frank Marotta Jr., whose atmospheric harmonies and musical accents joined her spacious keyboards in a single pulse. After a long commute from Cincinnati followed by back-to-back shows, they emptied themselves in the two-hour set that featured Heaton's first label release, Black Notebook.

The scene was set for an intimate exchange from her first number, "Take Your Desire," where she invited the audience to bring her inside. "Maybe It's Peace," an uplifting composition, echoed her history with the Gospel Choir of Harlem and credited the mythic writings of Joseph Campbell.
"Spinning" delivered Ani DiFranco-like vocal syncopations mixed with sweet musings of the Indigo Girls to reveal glimpses of her Gemini soul. In narrative style, Heaton visited diverse islands, then carried her listeners safely back to shore.

The musical gathering was part of an ongoing house concert series offering alternative choices to artists and their fans. For those seeking talent with musical and lyrical substance, Heaton is a rare treat. Their sound was unhindered by acoustic obstacles indicative of clubs--except for the humorous incident involving an over-aggressive houseplant and the occasional rumble of a passing train.

By Lora Nigro | November 2003 - SHEPHERD EXPRESS

"You can sometimes hear the influences of songwriting mavericks such as Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel and the Indigo Girls in the music of piano-playing singer-songwriter Anne Heaton, but Heaton's tunes generally tend to iron out her influences' quirks in favor of more mainstream songcraft."

By Rick Reger - CHICAGO TRIBUNE