My Mom doesn’t exactly have what you’d call great taste in music. She also is quick to dismiss critics. God forbid I say something negative about any contestant wrecking all your favourite songs on American Idol or the Voice. Recently, I refused to watch Disturbed cover Simon and Garfunkel and she couldn’t believe I had no interest. “It’s so good though!”, she said. I’m sure it is Mom, I’m sure it is. So when she emailed me suggesting I listen to “New Behaviour”, the first single from Anna Wiebe’s debut full-length, I knew that, at the very least, I had to respond positively, regardless of whether I actually liked it or not.
I’m not totally sure where my mom found Anna Wiebe but I’m glad she did. While “New Behaviour” it doesn’t necessarily break new ground, it is a rich and beautifully crafted folk tune. The key to making a bare-bones song like this work is ensuring all the parts, no matter how few, remain interesting, thoughtful and melodically compelling. Wiebe makes “New Behaviour” by expertly harmonizing her own melodies, adding some tasty guitar licks courtesy of producer Daniel Kruger, and avoiding lyrical cliches. When Wiebe sings “I’m revolutionary and I will dream with dewy eyes all day”, you can’t help but want to dream with her.
As a listener, you can tell Anna Wiebe’s dreams are vast but within reach. Her sound not only appeals o the snobby music blogger (me) but also to someone with less pretentious criteria for loving a song (my Mom). There is a populist feel to “New Behaviour” (think Bring Me Your Love era City and Colour without the cheese) but it strives to be more than the status quo, like a more restrained and rooted Jennifer Castle. Whichever way you see it, you’ll find something to love about “New Behaviour” and, just like me and my Mom, will eagerly wait and see what Anna Wiebe delivers next.
