Anjani’s major label debut was co-written with Leonard Cohen (whom Anjani first worked with when she sang on “Hallelujah” on his 1985 album Various Positions), and was produced by him as well, so his influence is unmistakable, in the spare instrumentation and poetic lyrical style. But Anjani has no difficulty making the work her own; she’s fully in control, from the late-night musings of the opening (and title) track to the gentle farewell “Thanks for the Dance.” These are the kind of love-gone-wrong torch songs that are so gorgeous they actually make you glad to know what it means to have a broken heart, as in the exquisitely bittersweet ode to unrequited desire “Never Got to Love You.” It’s not all downbeat; on “No One After You,” she delivers such sly lines as “I’ve taught the Kama Sutra/But I never loved before.” Both Anjani’s sultry voice and precise piano accompaniment imbue this album with a heady atmosphere that’s irresistible.
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