Not only does Anniina have one of those voices, you know, one of those that stands out from the rest of the pack without you really knowing why, but she also has that breathy catch that made the likes of Delores O’Riordan and Sinead O’Connor so adored. And to be fair, that in itself would be enough, but dig deeper and you find that ‘DVD’ is a song that keeps rewarding the listener as they embrace its different, maybe darker, aspects.
It’s a lyrically bold song, taking the most intimate parts of a relationship and turning them into a public musing on love and longing, voyeurism, art, fantasy, fascination, and everything in between. It may appear to belong to the pop canon, but it employs the authenticity and integrity of folk’s heart-on-the-sleeve honesty, and that is what hits home.
And then, you have the song’s delicacy; with so much else going on, it makes sense that it runs on simple acoustic guitar rhythms and Anniina’s exquisite voice, but between these two, ethereal voices and swooning strings make their gentle presence felt.
Rarely have I heard a song that ticks so many boxes for me – the voice, the musical simplicity, the deft and sparing textures, and the sheer vulnerability on display here, a song as elegant in its sound as it is eloquent in its message,
