Chris DeLine

In addition to being a singer-songwriter and one-time aspiring actress, Anya Marina is a radio DJ in San Diego, California. It would make sense then that Marina’s forthcoming release, Slow & Steady Seduction Phase II, reflects the great range of exposure to culture she’s had in her life. The album sways between styles using Marina’s voice to accentuate the sounds around it rather than becoming the focal point of any particular song. To some degree Marina sounds like a young smoker – a few thousand packs in, with a foggy rasp, seductively embracing each song with everything she has. Touching again on the subject of Marina being a radio DJ though, I don’t think it’s wrong to believe that she’s keen to a lot of modern rock, especially so considering her current role with the rock-based KBZT. With that, it’s hard to believe that Marina hasn’t heard Bloc Party’s “The Prayer,” a song that starts off with a beat that almost identically reflects that of her “Two Left Feet.” Not to put down her publicized features in MTV’s The Real World and Grey’s Anatomy, but despite any connotation those programs might suggest, her album is surprisingly vibrant and well-rounded… if you can look past the whole “my songs might not be completely original” thing.

[This post was first published by Culture Bully.]