Anon Reviews
Q Magazine:
"That Hewerdine and multi instrumentalist Gustav Ljungren took just three days to record this acoustic delight is revealed only by the perfect simplicity of Frank Birch's production. Birch captures what's already there as a near-as-dammit live performance.
Having written successfully for artists as diverse as Katrina And The Waves, Natalie Imbruglia and McAlmont, it's virtually a given that the endlessley touring Hewerdine will deliver songs rich in melody with lyrics whose meanings are transparent as they are universal.
From the gentle harmonium coda to the title track, through the Crosby Stills & Nash-like intro of plucked banjo and steel-stringed acoustic in Dream Baby to the subtle rise and fall of the arrangement in Peacetime, this is a journey into song of the purest kind."
Johnny Black verdict: 4/5
Mojo:
In a positive retreat from the fickleness of the wider business of music to the enclave of his own label, Hewerdine's delicate songwriting art now has to answer to nothing but itself.
Responsible for the odd minor hit (Honey Be Good for The Bible, Patience of Angels for Eddi Reader) and some prestigious covers (kd lang, Natalie Imbruglia), Hewerdine's records - like many worthy things - remain individual and refined items demanding an acquired taste.
"His work, while occasionally prone to a some-words-some-chords plainness, is mostly satisfyingly heartful and artful. The tender, sad but lovely vocals, the tantalisingly slight arrangements (acoustic guitar plus a texture or two) direct the listener to the essence of the material, which, when he produces songs as gorgeous and subtle as Peacetime ('the dark is kind') or Roundabout (nostalgia for carefree youth, as inevitable and melancholy as a hymn), is a very good thing."
Chris Ingham
The Independent:
"The tenderest of English songwriters strips himself down to the bone, now operating out of a Danish studio with only his guitar and a multi-instrumentalist Dane for accompaniment.
This is nearly as bare as a song can get: and given the lightness off the singer's tone and his abiding determination to keep tunes and tempos friendly, there's an argument that says, quite simply, that there isn't enough going on here to engage the passing ear. And no, this is not vintage Boo.
But there are too few singer/songwriters who get their feelings to move about as naturally as water, and this is one.
Nick Coleman verdict: 3/5
Logo:
Those familiar with Boo Hewerdine's erstwhile career as frontman of literate eighties popsters The Bible, or his subsequent solo career (yielding five albums to date) will not be surprised to learn that 'Anon' is as immediate, and as thought-provoking, as anything he has previously recorded.
A songwriter of no little renown (recent collaborations include Eddi Reader, David McAlmont, Gary Clark of Danny Wilson (no mean writer himself), and sometime MOJO contributor Bill DeMain of Swan Dive), his lyrics for 'Anon' illustrate that a simple message, simply stated, is often the best way to get yourself heard; viz. 'A kite cannot fly till someone holds the line, and if you ever let me go I know that I would fall.'
Recorded in three days with producer Frank Birch and multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Ljunggren, 'Anon' is a frill-free, almost back-porch acoustic gem; spare and spacious, washes of wheezing harmonium, mandolin and Wurlitzer add pastel musical colour while leaving ample room for Hewerdine's lyrics to breathe.
The obvious, though spurious comparison is Nick Drake; although Drake never invested his lyrics with the easy warmth and humanity that Hewerdine seems to carry around in a bag wherever he goes. File under 'Magical'.
Michael Ornadet
TNT:
"Recorded live in a Danish studio over three days this January, Anon is Hewerdine's most assured record yet. It's beautifully, understatedly played by Hewerdine and multi-instrumentalist Gustav Ljunggren and sung in Hewerdine's trademark dolorous voice, but it's the songs that make it: tender, aching miniatures of love and loss, wracked with guilt. Only the clunking blues of Apple Tree lets down what's otherwise a wonderful, wonderful record. "
