EERA - Speak (2021)

The follow-up to her acclaimed 2017 debut, Reflection Of Youth, Speak is an album of contrasts and of confidence. Anna Lena Bruland (EERA) explains “Speak is a search for a balance in life, acknowledging myself, and being proud of who I am. To become braver and more confident, and stop questioning so much. Accept and move on instead. My debut was a little bit timid, like, am I doing this right? This album is more who I am.”

Whereas Reflection Of Youth took intriguing musical cues from the likes of PJ Harvey, Deerhoof and Elliott Smith, Speak is more aligned to Broadcast, My Bloody Valentine and Lush, adding synthesisers to create a euphotic and dynamic setting for Anna Lena’s vibrant vocals. There may be elements of shoegaze here but she is not looking down at her shoes, but directly into the eyes of the listener; all the better to communicate what she is saying.

The contrast between Speak’s clarity of vision and its shifting dream world of sound suits Anna Lena just fine. “I love opposites,” she says. “It’s not planned, it just happens naturally. Some artists write in colours, but for me, it’s more about texture: hard and soft, light and dark.” To hard/soft and light/dark, Speak adds contrasts of sharp corners and subtle angles, and a shimmering warmth to the dynamics that balances the steeliness of the synths. Emotionally, too, the album projects a vulnerability and sensitivity that balances the album’s core theme of self-reliance