Star Anna

“I have a hard time believing that this is the debut album from a girl in early 20's living in the rural Northwest. Star Anna's songwriting has a level of maturity and observation that I think of as reserved for a seasoned Nashville/Austin veteran. This CD touches every emotional nerve in my body and does it with such subtlety and craftsmanship that it's an easy choice for me for album of the year. For me this CD has 6 absolutely phenomenal tracks. What's interesting is the tracks I don't like are the ones other DJ's across the country are playing. To me that's just testament to the depth of this album. If you like your twang influenced by a little punk and a lot of rock give Star Anna a twirl, I think you'll be impressed.” - Scott 'Shotgun' Majors, KRVM

"October 7, 2009 - "It's not the years; it's the miles." "It's not you; it's me." Combine those two well-worn phrases and you'll have a pretty good grasp on Star Anna's biting breakup song, "Through the Winter." The young singer-songwriter exudes hard living, from her world-weary, head-turning voice and classic-sounding take on Americana straight through to her biting tales of love gone bad.

The twangy, angst-ridden "Through the Winter" chastises a spurned ex for his post-break-up bitterness, taking full responsibility for her part in the relationship's demise while urging him to own up to the fact that it wasn't working. In the process, she lands a killer blow or two.

"Well, that's fine, you got me through winter," Star Anna sings with a perfect combination of ennui and exasperation. The fact that this toss-off is followed with "but I meant every word I said" only twists the knife. At the end, the refrain — "Can't deny it wasn't working / but you can't just blame me instead" — turns into the final word, as defiant as it is resigned."

See Star Anna and The Laughing Dogs on NPR.org's song of the day...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113574426
- npr.org

In regards to Star Anna show at the Tractor: "...did a great job & we had a killer night!" - Tractor Tavern Booking Agent, Andrew McKaeg

Voted Best New Artist and Best Female Vocals by On Magazine, November 2007 - On Magazine

A musical soul-mate for those late and lonely nights , a voice so intoxicating that it might just eliminate any real desire to find a 'true love'. - Mark Pickerel of The Screaming Trees

MUSIC REVIEW - Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs - The Only Thing That Matters (self-released)
Remember that girl you met at the bowling alley? The one that chews gum, drinks several pitchers of beer, wears painted on jeans and tells you about French philosophy then winks at you as she gets strike after strike? She later on she goes and breaks your heart but you don’t care, you’re just glade to have been there to enjoy the time you had with her. No? Well Star Anna reminds me of that girl.

Well maybe not Star Anna personally but her music. It’s equal parts trashy Americana-laced rock mixed with sophisticated storytelling and charm that raises Anna and her band, The Laughing Dogs, to the a gritty level of greatness. It’s a gazing at the starts from the gutter kind of thing…

All the above qualities are on display in the opener Sleep My Darling. A woman sings to her lover to leave the world behind and to take refuge in her arms. The gentle solo guitar gives way to full band and then all comes head before calm returns and is then is again ditched. With this aural bi-polarism I’m left wondering if the woman’s arms are a sanctuary or a prison, but the song is so good you know you’re going to stay either way.

Through the Winter slinks along with vibrant 70’s Byrds/Stones swagger. Anna’s delivery of personal lyrics make her at once confessional and defiant, vulnerable and brave. Hawks on a Pole booms like a Lone Justice or Melissa Etheridge rollicking rocker and Justin Davis’ guitar especially cooks here. Where I Come From is a lovely, yearning number that takes us back to a more honky-tonk feel that defined much of Anna’s first CD Crooked Path.

In this world of many drinking songs you can now add as one of the best Spinning My Wheels which features the great line “I’m just sitting here spinning my wheels, but I’m not drunk enough to feel like I’m free” Though more rocking like the great Country drinking songs it’s one part pining and three part I don’t give a shit. Burn is a Pretenders style pop-punk gem and For Now and the dark tale of a serial killer Restless Water, show what Anna can do with a slow moving ballad, her singular voice breaks and swells with aching.

Aside from longing and lost love (or at least the opportunity thereof) if there is a theme to be picked up on The Only Thing That Matters it’s leaving. Nowhere is that more apparent on the Running Man. The languidly jazz tempo thrown down by Frank Johnson’s slinky bass and Travis Yost’s syncopated drums slowly builds and erupts into a declaration of dereliction.

The closer Tripping Wire was a 2AM solo guitar cut and Anna really shines on it. This is the voice that cut through all the previous rockers all but standing on it’s own and shining like a dusty, dark jewel.

As heartbreaking as many of the songs are this is not a sad album, and though there is an element of moving on it’s not a chick therapy album.
It’s a cathartic jubulation that stands as another exceptional release from a master crafter of songs and her great band. - Baron Lane

Now this is how it’s done. Ellensburg, Washington based Star Anna Krogstie’s debut release, “Crooked Path” (the English translation of her Norwegian surname) delivers some of the finest work in alternative country today.

Echoing the folky remoteness of Cat Power (Chan Marshall), the rustic revivalism of Gillian Welch, and just a grain of Neko Case style Southern-gothic smoldering, Star Anna wears her influences proudly but makes her own mark on the material here.

Her band the Laughing Dogs lay down adept and solid sounds that moves from the alt.country of “If Wishes Were Horses” , “Black Cat Blues” to the Appalachian-style raved-up title song. “Places We Exist” takes page from the Van Morrison book of swinging pop-folk and “Space Beneath The Door” grooves along with a soft blues-funk that belies the love don’t live here no more message of the song. One of the finest songs in a whole line of fine songs is the slow-burning “No Surprise” featuring a weeping bottle-neck accompaniment is as haunting as anything done by the great Patsy Cline and is guaranteed to break your heart and make you reach for the bottle.

Sure the sound moves across a sonic landscape, but Star Anna pulls it all together with her lilting passionate voice. This is one of the finest debut releases it has been my pleasure to hear.

- Baron, Twang Nation - Twang Nation

Washington state won't hold Star Anna much longer. Her March 2008 solo release will burst her big voice with its gusty delivery nationwide. Backed by members of her regular band, Laughing Dogs, she dedicates her project to the Big Unknown. (Linda LaFianza) - Phantom Tollbooth

Star Anna “Crooked Path” (Malamute, 2008)

An alt. country star is born

Sometimes you come across a debut album and realise that you’re in at the birth of a major new talent. Such an album and such a talent is Star Anna Krogstie, whose “Crooked Path” (the English translation of her Norwegian surname) is not far behind those from the likes of Justin Rutledge and Nels Andrews.

Despite the proclaimed influence of Tom Petty (“the one and only, biggest musical hero influence for me”) it’s the hand of Lucinda Williams that listeners will discern here most. She is only an influence though, as Star Anna ploughs her own path, which cuts right to the heart of the matter. For one thing she hasn’t gargled with quite as much gravel as Williams and, backed by her band the Laughing Dogs, her music is more, well, musical, less the single anguished note and more the complete package. The overall vibe is alt.country with a dash of blues, but there’s the odd hint of funk and a few other curveballs thrown in to keep listeners from getting too comfortable.

The titles tell you what you need to know: “Black Cat Blues”, “Devil Don’t Remember My Name” (a fast and furious workout), “Bed That I Made” and so on. Star Anna though appears to be one of life’s survivors and realists with little time for starry-eyed dreaming. The longing in “If Wishes Were Horses” is tempered with realism (“it takes a long long time to get it right”) while “Space Beneath The Door” speaks of her determination to move on (“I don’t live there anymore”). This view is borne out by her live performances (lots on YouTube) where she and the Dogs deliver no-nonsense music played with the sort of effortless style that makes the E Street Band and Petty’s Heartbreakers so great.

All in all, this may well be the best debut album of 2008 (and yes, I do know it’s only March).


Date review added: Monday, March 03, 2008
Reviewer: Jeremy Searle
Stars: 8/10 - Americana UK.com

With a voice that combines the passion of Brandi Carlile and the likeability of Sheryl Crow, Star Anna sets out on a journey of heartbreak, realization and remedies for the soul on her new album Crooked Path. In the opening track, “If Wishes Were Horses,” Anna introduces us to a desperate couple leaving behind their old life to start anew. Reminiscent of Bonnie and Clyde she sings, “We wouldn’t even have to fight, or say they were right / Nobody’d even have to know where it is we’d go.”

It seems that each song on this album marks a specific point in the journey of these two lovers, and the theme of interdependence runs constant through every word. Anna truly shows her skill as a songwriter with songs like “Crooked Path” where she tells, “I’ve got a pocket full of smokes and a headache full of hopes and a worn down pair of shoes.” Her theme of heartache is supported by lines like “No one knows you like I do / And I can’t be the one to change your ways.” Make no mistake, there is a feeling of pain in almost every song on this album, and Anna does not give the listener an easy way out. While some albums have a “happily ever after” finish, Anna chooses no such route. Her songs are consistent and meaningful, fueled by genuine emotion and hard-fought lyrics.

The strength of this album rests in the fact that Star Anna may write in the style of many country/Americana artists today, but she doesn’t sing like them. Supported by her band, The Laughing Dogs, Star Anna’s lyrics groove with the road-tested sound of a singer comfortable with her musical surroundings. Unafraid to let her voice be the focal point of her music, she delivers her message with strength, significance and earnest emotion. (Malamute Records)
www.staranna.com

-Dave Boodakian - Performer Magazine