Phases & Stages

Amy Annelle

Troubadour Amy Annelle has spent the better part of a decade sowing her rough and tumble folk tunes across the country, but the songstress returned to her Austin landing place to record her latest, The Cimarron Banks. For newcomers to her seven-LP career, her warbling alto commands most of the attention for the first few spins, but subsequent plays reveal intoxicating guitar lines and Bob Dylan's brand of lyricism ("I was but a waif just a-waitin' to be taken by a stiff breeze, a hellhound, or a full moon"). It's easy to appreciate the devastating delicacy of the title track, but most of the songs take extra spins to reveal their potential. Annelle's Austin residency allowed her to take the same care with this Craig Ross production as she did with her songwriting, layering together a rich album.