The Arts Desk Hails Laurie Anderson’s “Remarkable Gift For Storytelling”

The Arts Desk says “Laurie Anderson is what Leonardo da Vinci would have hailed as una donna universale: inspired by science and technology, she’s wide-ranging artist, a writer, film-maker, and explorer. She has a remarkable gift for story-telling, and her latest offering, an imaginative account of the woman aviator Amelia Earhart’s last voyage, taps into many of the creative currents that distinguish her. With a voice that feels as if she were sharing her tale in the most personal way, a style that she originally displayed on her first super-hit, still as fresh as ever, “O Superman” (1981), she creates a feeling of particular intimacy. No dramatic excess here, but a feeling of being spoken to very directly, that she manages to deliver whether on stage or in an audio-only narrative. There is a trademark mixture of multi-tracking and digital tweaking that will be familiar to anyone who has listened to Anderson in the past. It could feel a little déjà entendu, but the content is new, and reflects something essential about the artist herself, a combination of almost child-like innocence and sophisticated invention.”

Amelia is at radio now from Nonesuch Records. Read the full Arts Desk review here.