One More Time in the Air

Album Review

Folk-jazz pianist and vocalist Anna Dagmar Johnson offers up nine tracks of both spring breezes and guarded insights on her debut CD, One More Time in the Air. Comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Tori Amos are probably inevitable, since Johnson takes similar excursions in to jazzier territory than most folk artists, while experimenting with dark chords and moods like Amos and Fiona Apple do. The harrowing "Loser" lays Johnson's affected voice and acoustic piano over a gritty digital drum beat and sparse feedback, while the title track toys with the melody line like something off of Court and Spark. As is often the case on debut CDs, the artist seems to try to cover too much ground on the album, ranging from improv-sounding contemporary classical to pop to jazz to rock, all within the span of four songs. Each of these styles is done well, but when Johnson focuses on one voice, she'll be even more successful.