It’s always interesting to hear what artists from other countries think about the United States.
“Americans in general are the most enthusiastic people in the world,” Australia native and out singer-songwriter Anne McCue said.
Really? Us? Are you sure?
“Yeah. There’s a spirit to this country that is positive and excited. There is a fundamental belief that you can do whatever you want built into the Constitution. Australia didn’t have a revolution. We’re still a colony of England. America is great because it had a revolution and started out fresh. It’s all about pioneering.”
We’ll take her word for it.
McCue has had plenty of time to do the research, having spent almost a decade writing, recording and producing her own albums and relocating to Nashville three years ago. She said that living in Nashville, a nerve center of country music and the recording industry in America, has had a profound effect on her music.
“I found it very quiet and more of a creative space. There are a lot of incredible musicians in Nashville so I was inspired to learn new instruments. Australia is caught between English/European stuff and American. We get more of the English side of music, plus having our own music in Australia. It’s a bit of a different influence here, where you hear a lot less English and Australian bands. But we get a lot more American bands in Australia. So it’s more of a melting pot.”
That inspiration was definitely present on her last album, 2008’s “East of Electric,” which was a departure from her established rock sound and ventured more into the intricate and textured instrumental harmonies, taking cues from the classic folk-pop music of the 1960s and ’70s in the style of The Byrds, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.
“I was waiting for the funding for the ‘Electric’ album,” she said of her stylistic detour. “While I was doing that, I was writing all these songs and I started recording them at home. It sounded pretty good. I played them for a few engineer friends of mine and they said they sounded good. So I decided to make it into a whole album and I just recorded it at home playing all the instruments. I played guitar, lap steel, ukulele, mandolin bass, banjo, bass, xylophone and a drum.”
The new album, which she’s currently putting the finishing touches on, finds her and her band back to delivering the earnest rock ’n’ roll she’s used to playing.
“It’s bluesy, swampy and mysterious,” she said. “It’s rock and it’s influenced by ’50s sci-fi at times. There’s also the biker-rock angle.”
Her rock-band chops and her acoustic prowess have earned McCue fans from across the rock spectrum. It has also earned her prime gigs opening for the likes of Lucinda Williams and Heart. McCue said style-wise, she tends to lean more in the direction of the group she’s opened for in those situations.
“Lucinda is obviously Americana. I’ve got a lot of songs in that style, so I tend to play them more. With Heart, I play more of the rock stuff.”
McCue performs at 8 p.m. Dec. 18 at PSALM Salon, 5841 Overbrook Ave., and opens for the Donna Jean Godchaux Band at 8 p.m. Dec. 19 at Triumph Brewing Co., 400 Union Square Drive, New Hope. For more information, visit www.annemccue.com.
Larry Nichols can be reached at [email protected].