On Are You There?, her first full album as a solo artist, singer-songwriter-pianist Anana Kaye makes a powerful and timely artistic statement that thematically addresses both war and grief. The war in Ukraine was foremost on her mind in making the record. But as natives of the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Kaye and Irakli Gabriel — her husband, creative partner and guitarist — have experienced war, authoritarian repression and displacement firsthand.
The album also is informed by the grief Kaye and Gabriel felt and still feel over the loss of their friend David Olney, with whom they formed a friendship after moving to Nashville in 2017. Kaye and Olney recorded an album together — Whispers and Sighs — that was released in 2021, a little more than a year after his death. Olney’s spirit permeates the new album as well. It includes four songs the couple co-wrote with him as well as “Soldier of Misfortune,” a staple of Kaye’s live shows that Olney wrote in 1975, and “Love Is,” which he co-wrote with Kim Richey and performed the night Kaye and Gabriel first met him.
Musically, Are You There? is a lush and achingly beautiful record featuring 10 tracks of artful pop rock that establish Kaye as an artist to be taken seriously. Her breathy, seductive vocals have a wistful quality, which reflects the album’s delicate balance of resilience and sadness. The album opens with the uptempo single “Cordelia,” inspired by the character in Shakespeare’s King Lear. From there, the record winds its way unrushed through nine atmospheric arrangements, including an inspired rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “There Is a War” that surpasses the original.
Find the record on your favorite streaming service, and follow Kaye on Instagram and watch her website for show information and other updates. Her next local date is set for June 20 at The 5 Spot.
