How Best to See the Light

It can creep in when you least expect it. The tiniest amount can change everything. It brightens, illuminates and incorrigibly draws us towards it.
Such is the power of light.

In "How Best to See the Light," Anne Janelle's fourth full-length album, she follows the light, even from the darkest of places.

Each one of her nine original songs beams with hope, a beacon for muddled times. "I began writing these songs almost like a safety blanket for myself. I have taken solace in singing them and I hope others will find comfort in them too," Anne says.

The recording concept started with a simple voice memo message to a friend. "I usually use my phone to record new song ideas. I had a song that I wanted to share with a friend so I performed the whole thing and then texted it to her," Anne says. And there was some magic to the recording, a familiarity in its often-heard tones and distortion. "I was talking with my engineer, wanting to try and capture that intimate sound in the studio. We talked about so many options but, as often happens, the best solution was also the simplest!" And so, she recorded the album, singing and playing the Yamaha upright piano in her living room with nothing more than her cell phone and scrawled lyrics on the pages in front of her.

Throughout the album, her luminous melodies soar, accompanied simply by unadorned piano chords. Though detailed and personal, Anne's lyrics resonate far and wide. From the nostalgic "When to Lead and When to Follow" to the upbeat and innocent "The Ice Cream Man," Anne explores themes of family, including her Danish-Canadian heritage. In "A Thousand Dreams" and "Keeps Breaking my Heart" she wrestles with incoming wrinkles, internal turmoil and forgotten dreams. In "How Best to See the Light" and "Love Is ... " she gives us hope that the future is bright and full of light.