Karney Album "One True Song" Review

Artist: Karney

Album: One True Song

Released: 2025

Artist Website: https://karney.org/music/

Anna Karney is back with a new set of music that is sure to please even the most discernible listeners. One True Song  is an interesting blend of classic folk influenced songs with tracks that are pushing far beyond the limits of what is typically heard on an album in the Folk/Americana genre. Its six tracks are all well written and sung exceptionally well. There are 3 alternate acoustic takes of the songs bringing the total up to nine tracks. Like her last album, the thread that holds her eclectic approach to the music is a powerful vocal performance on every level. Whether it's a soft approach or more aggressive take, Karney makes it her own.

The title track, One True Song is one of the cuts with two versions of the same song. The song would have been equally at home on a Simon and Garfunkel record as it would've been on Led Zeppelin III. It has the subtle approach that is common to the Americana genre, but underneath the softness is a vocalist that I suspect can blow the roof off any roadhouse. There is an understated power that is being reigned in to serve the song, and does so beautifully, but I know there is a rocker underneath there that is being contained.

Suspended is a track that jumped right out of the speakers on first listen. With a hypnotic Doors like quality it is easy to get lost in this one. The production simply could not have been better.

It's more of a sonic journey than it is a song. The vocal performance is top shelf and the lyrics are quite compelling. It is one of those songs where it all comes together on a spiritual level. In dance, it becomes art when the dancer and the dance are no longer discernible entities, but one thing locked into one another. This song is Karney's version of that dance. 

Another track that grabbed my ear on first listen is Out of Body. With its middle eastern approach it takes the listener on a journey that was unexpected. The track begins with a haunting acoustic guitar that sets the table for what is to come. It twists and turns like a powerful river. Not reckless white water rapids, but a swift flat current that is gracefully moving everything in it down stream. The kind of current that is misleading until you dive in and end up a half mile downstream by the time the river has been crossed. The arrangement and performance from all involved could not have been executed any better. This is another one that feels Zeppelin like in spirit, but still uniquely Karney! 

This album is not for the traditionalist. Music like this is made by free spirits for open minded  listeners. Although there is plenty of mellow acoustic based music here, it goes somewhere else and does so with total conviction, much like her last album. Conviction is the key word. This kind of music is created by fiercely committed and inspired artists and it comes roaring through the speakers with every note, even when it's a whisper. Karney is an artistic force of nature and this set of songs is a must listen for music lovers that bask in the unexpected and the musical road less traveled.