Star Anna
Seattle, Washington, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"Ellensburg’s Star Anna debuted last year with Crooked Path, a promising album of rootsy alt-country, and while the roots influence is still there on her 2nd album, Star and her band have cranked up the electricity, giving her emotionally scarred songs an additional rock ‘n’ roll punch. Her throaty, aching vocals sound better than ever, and the band earns their co-billing with tight, tough-sounding accompaniment. Crooked Path was a great beginning, but this one packs a mightier wallop". -Don Yates KEXP - KEXP
"There’s a dichotomy at play with the record and Star Anna herself, a strange marriage of untouchable toughness with an edge of danger and startling soul-barring, heart-exposing honesty in her words and her voice. There is such a technical proficiency to the album and such confidence radiating from Star Anna when she sings, it can at times seem aloof — but then her voice cracks with emotion as she begs you to hold on and she seems as fragile, as tough. There is something delightfully complex about Star Anna, something that makes you want to listen more loudly, more closely and just, more." - Abby Simmons, Sound on the Sound
- Sound on the Sound
Star Anna is someone who I've heard a lot, about but didn't have the chance to see until our rehearsal the night before the show. She is the real deal. There is a pain in her voice that comes from somewhere deep, a place I dare not ask where it comes from. She will be a talent that we can all say that "We saw her when . . . ". Guaranteed. - Duff McKagan - Seattle Weekly
"Some stars burn brief and dim, Star Anna burns like S Doradus gone nova. She and the Dogs deliver passion, grit and rock’n’roll and right now there really isn’t anyone out there to touch them."
- Americana UK
Discography
2011 - "Alone In This Together" - Local 638 Records/Monkey Wrench Records
2009 - "The Only Thing That Matters" - Self Release
2008 - "Crooked Path" - Self Release
Photos
Bio
When a woman hushes hundreds of people with her voice, it’s a powerful thing. Star Anna–her given name–has been wowing audiences and accumulating fans (including canonized musicians like the folks in Pearl Jam and Guns & Roses) since she was discovered busking outside a café in Ellensburg, Washington at age 16.
It would be easy to introduce Star Anna as an artist through the lens of her story, which is an almost archetypal tale of the journey from small means in a rough town to the big stage. There is, however, so much more to Star than the story of her path from then to now. Namely, her music. Namely, her unforgettable, preternatural talent.
Star and her band, The Laughing Dogs, will release “Alone In This Together” on July 12th. The single and title track, “Alone In This Together” features Mike McCready of Pearl Jam on guitar. Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs signed to Local 638 Records, run by fellow lady rock musician Rachel Flotard of Visqueen. Receiving added support from Pearl Jam’s Monkeywrench Records who partner with Local 638 to distribute the new album.
The Seattle Times’ Nicole Brodeur put it well: “There’s a tenderness to Star Anna’s alt-country sound, but under that is a steel rod of strength and seen-it-all that sets her apart from the girls who play and pout. She’s not trying to impress anyone, and in the process, she stops you in your tracks.” Anna started playing drums at age 11. Her voice and songs are often shorthanded as a channel of Patsy Cline through Tom Petty. This album, “Alone In This Together”, finds Anna transcending 2008’s torch-twang debut “Crooked Path” and 2009’s more rock-heavy “The Only Thing That Matters”. It is deeper, it is richer, it is more heartbreaking and jaw-dropping.
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