Joanthology

"As Joan as Police Woman, Joan Wasser has established herself as a distinctive - and somewhat underappreciated - artist, a situation the wittily named retrospective Joanthology aims to remedy. Gathering songs from all of her albums as well as previously unreleased tracks and a "Live at the BBC" session, the set reaffirms just how consistent Wasser's music is, even as she's explored its different aspects over the years. Throughout all of her stylistic shifts, she's proven herself as a songwriter's songwriter. Wasser's willingness to tackle the big issues -love, death, grief - with profound yet intimate lyrics is matched by her skill at surrounding them with an equally familiar yet unexpected fusion of soul and post-punk ... a comprehensive, and welcome, celebration of Joan as Police Woman's music".

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"Underrated brilliance ... With seven albums now under her belt, Joan Wasser is long overdue a retrospective collection. The American musician may not have a No 1 hit in her back catalogue, but this anthology perfectly illustrates how underrated she is as a songwriter.Wasser can move between styles with a poise that not many of her peers have mastered. Each era of her career, from 2006's Real Life (The Ride is as sophisticated a pop-rock song as you'll ever hear) to the shimmering, jazzy experimentation of 2011's The Deep Field (The Magic being a highlight) reveals a musician determined not to repeat herself".

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