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Album Details

• Artist: Anjali
• Album: The World of Lady A
• Label: Wiija/Beggars
• Year of Release: 2003
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: jparker on 2004-04-19

Apparently, Anjali (Anjali Bhatia, in full) was quite the rebel. She sang for a Riot Grrl outfit called the Voodoo Queens in the early '90s. She was once kicked out of a Cramps gig for lipping off Lux Interior. Who could possibly offend the Cramps!? From the sound of this album, her second solo offering, she has harnessed that rebellious spark and transformed it into a simmering (as in bubbling and hot) talent. Her breathy vocals fit somewhere between Nancy Sinatra and Beth Gibbons of Portishead, with a touch of Bollywood superstar Asha Bhosle. The first two tracks, "Misty Canyon" and "Asian Provocateur", feature basslines straight out of a '60s spy-movie soundtrack, and breathy vamping vocals - an irresistible start to the album. "Rainy Day" is a beautiful sigh, wistfully soaring, with epic strings - a James Bond main title that never was. "Seven X Eight" is a scorching standout: imagine a lost garage-rock classic redone with a funky, buzzing bassline and psychedelic sitars. But instead of macho posturing lyrics, it's femme fatale flirtation - "Don't come to me with your broken heart, I won't mend it, I'll just wring it out". By the time she squeals "But it's too LAAAAAAAATE!" every red-blooded male's knees will be shaking with lust. Tracks like "Turn It On", "Hymn To The Sun", and "Kandivali Gulley" kick the '60s-vibe on its ass, with serious dance beats and post- drum-and-bass fragments. She explores more traditional Indian instruments like sitar and tablas on "Sati" and "Rani Of Jhansi". The closing track, "Stinging Sitars X9" is a fitting finale, a blend of psych, dance, and Indian sounds that should keep your temperature up until Anjali's next release - or the next spin of this sexy CD.

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