Anna Calvi, Hunter
07 10

Anna Calvi Hunter Domino

06.09.18

Anna Calvi sets out her stall early on her third LP; Hunter wrestles conceptually with what it means to be a queer feminist in 2018 and the playful opener, As a Man, swiftly sets about rebuking heteronormativity. She’s extended that fluidity to her musical outlook, too. Hunter is scored through with a spacey, electronic feel.

On the title track, flickers of the formidable guitar prowess that defined Calvi’s first two albums hover like a ghost, with a thumping beat doing most of the heavy lifting instead, whilst the operatic drama of centrepiece Swimming Pool relies on synths to mimic strings. Calvi does find room, elsewhere, to flex her shredding muscles, particularly on the poppy riff of Don’t Beat the Girl Out of My Boy and the chaotic closing moments of Alpha. But the fact that a guitarist of Calvi’s calibre has chosen to keep the instrument firmly in the background on Hunter speaks to its adventurousness, both musically and thematically.