Album Review: Anoushka Shankar Has “Love Letters” For You

Love Letters documents a time of profound flux for Anoushka: health issues, heartbreak, domestic upheaval – “These were heavy shocks and challenges, things which pushed me into some very vulnerable places. I’ve written from a personal place before, of course, but there was something particularly tender and raw about the process this time,” she says.Writing and recording Love Letters has been an exercise in catharsis for Shankar, a “gentle, organic process” that saw her collaborating almost exclusively with female peers. 
Anoushka Shankar – Bright Eyes ft. Alev Lenz

With this in mind, Love Letters is a stunning, delicate look at pain, and how grief can leave you so bare you feel strong. Suddenly, all the layers you put on to make you feel “safe” in the world and harmless in the eyes of others are gone, and you all have is your own “skin” to keep you cozy. It is a beautifully sad realization that leads to greater happiness, which is to goal in Shankar’s Love Letters, and her ultimate journey in 6 songs. 
Those Words

Vocally, Shankar feels precise, clear, and gorgeously purposeful. It is as if she is plotting the tenderness of her vocality for your heart’s takeover. Lord knows she had mine through songs such as, “Lovable ft Ibeyi” and “In This Mouth,” with lyrics and arrangements that felt artfully orchestrated. It was as if Shankar wanted to reveal music is art and suffering is enlightening. In essence, our pain can refresh us and our perspectives of what is joy. Such a beautiful message cannot be better delivered than through Anoushka Shankar’s Love Letters, which will be released on February 7. Click here for more information.