Not Going Anywhere

1	Not Going Anywhere 3:37
2	Polly 3:16
3	Road Bin 3:22
4	End of May 3:31
5	Sailor & Widow 3:33
6	Sit in the Sun 3:32
7	Right Now & Right Here 3:36
8	Seventeen 2:24
9	Spanish Song Bird 4:12
10	By the Cathedral 2:41
11	Ending Song / Bardi Johannsson 4:30

Barnes & Noble

A noted tunesmith and performer in France, Keren Ann makes her English-language debut with Not Going Anywhere, which balances crisp acoustic pop with tasteful arrangements that suggest French icons Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy. Her breathy voice is small, but her whispers carry resonance, riding the crest of lyrics rife with emotional turbulence. The Israeli-born singer-songwriter (neé Keren Ann Zeidel) evokes the unstudied charm of Astrud Gilberto on songs such as "Seventeen" and the billowy "Spanish Song Bird." She makes the most of her limited range with tantalizing arrangements, which range from the spare "Sit in the Sun" -- a lament for a love cut short, delivered in a quavering voice, the lapping sounds of the tide acting as both rhythm section and lulling balm -- to the more ambitious "Sailor & Widow," which suggests Suzanne Vega with a plainspoken vocal, buzzing electric guitar bits, and an insistent rhythm. Keren Ann's voice and production may appeal to an older audience, even as some songs speak of youthful themes, such as the agony of young love on the winsome "Seventeen" and the intensity of a first physical encounter on "Right Now & Right Here," which escalates as its arrangement builds to incorporate strings, woodwinds, harpsichord, and a towering female chorus. Whether recalling the melancholy folk of Nick Drake on the lovely title cut or flexing a bit of jazz muscle on the slithering "Road Bin," Keren Ann has introduced herself to a new audience in fine, haunting style. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

Not Going Anywhere sees Keren Ann Zeidel operating in the same hushed tones as her previous albums and once again collaborating with Benjamin Biolay. While Zeidel has been compared to Dido and Portishead in the past, few would make similar comparisons this time around as trip-hop vibes really appear only on the playful "Sailor & Widow." Otherwise, the pace is held steady around 20 BPM and more frequently there are no beats at all. Instead, Zeidel frolics in a whispery, moody genre that might be appropriately labeled neo-folk, late-night lullaby. On the somewhat unsettling songs "End of May" and "Right Now & Right Here," Zeidel's voice is a dead-ringer for Lisa Germano, and since the music mostly consists of quietly strummed acoustic guitars, pianos, and violins, the music seems equally Germano-esque. On these

songs, one can't help but note similarities to Mary Timony's dark lullabies as well. But where Germano and Timony traverse in adult themes, Zeidel and Biolay's songs would be a perfect fit for a toddler's nursery rhyme album. A very hip toddler's nursery rhyme album, that is. Elsewhere, a number of other influences are apparent, from the Belle & Sebastian-flavored title track to a series of tunes near the album's close that seem touched by the hands of Van Dyke Parks or Rufus Wainwright. Lush, minimal, and always gentle, Not Going Anywhere reaffirms Zeidel's gorgeous voice and should be a soundtrack for the hippest coffeehouses around the globe. ~ Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide

New York Times

In her neatly balanced songs, with a voice at once open and enigmatic, Keren Ann is poised... to linger and haunt her listeners. Jon Pareles

Entertainment Weekly

Laced with gorgeous string arrangements, it's truly an album to be savored by the light of a pink moon. (B+) Kristina Feliciano