The second semi-final in 2010 was always going to have a horrible casualty, but even though we expected someone to fall, there were very few people who thought it would be Sweden’s Anna Bergendahl.
The Nordic definition of Kooky was a popular choice in the country, although not with Eurovision fans – it was felt that she was bordering on Schlager, and if you’re expecting anything else from this album, then perhaps you need to look somewhere else.
Opening with a bit of clicking fingers and a hint of swing, the throaty voice of Bergendahl puts a smile on your face, but you’re not sure why. It’s certainly a jolly album, but kooky also means it does go all over the shop. From the opening bouncy track we then get the 2010 Eurovision entry, and while the voice is the same, there’s a tiny crumb of discomfort – this is not an album that flows together, a fact proven with the fake spanish accent that sits on top of Barcelona Blues, and then gets thrown out the window for The Army (a track that really needs to be sung over the closing credits of a Jerry Bruckheimer movie).
I’d never criticise an artist experimenting with a variety of styles (there’s some Jazz, a bit of 1940’s smooth, slow ballad and pop numbers), but an album needs to have a connection between the tracks. Yours Sincerely feels more like a studio throwing lots of tracks on a wall, seeing what sticks, and releasing those as a single. Now, when an album is needed, this smash is all they have in the cupboard.
Ultimately I like this album, but more because of the time following Bergendahl for Eurovision. Listening to it in the cold summer light of Scotland, it becomes less than the sum of its parts.
There’s a lot of fizz in Yours Sincerely, but don’t go in expecting a huge revelation or life changing track. It’s a little bit memorable, a small hook here,a nice beat otherwise, and it passes the time nicely. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that, but I tend to like a bit more, even from my Schlager.
Yours Sincerely, by Anna Bergendahl, is published by Lionheart Internation (Universal) and available via Amazon
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