Pop/Review Anana Kaye - Cordelia
Anana Kaye is a Nashville-based indie Alt-Americana duo. Hailing from Georgia, the other one, where Argonauts sailed to steal the Golden Fleece and where wine was invented 8000 years ago, Anana Kaye and Irakli Gabriel deliver a unique sound we rarely experience in such potent doses today. With influences including Kate Bush, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, and David Bowie, their music is a genre-bending musical experience akin to twisting a kaleidoscope.
Anana Kaye’s “Cordelia” is a striking and fearless introduction to her album “Are You There?,” a song that confronts modern chaos with intelligence, elegance, and emotional depth. Drawing inspiration from Shakespeare’s King Lear, Kaye reimagines Cordelia as a timeless symbol of truth-telling in a world clouded by illusion, deceit, and noise. The result is a track that feels both ancient and urgently contemporary.
Built on an unexpected disco pulse, “Cordelia” thrives on contrast. Seductive rhythms and adventurous arrangements collide with lyrics rooted in moral clarity and emotional honesty. This tension — between surface beauty and inner truth — mirrors the central question Kaye poses: what happens when someone refuses to flatter and chooses to speak plainly? Rather than offering easy answers, the song invites reflection, letting discomfort and beauty coexist.
Kaye’s Georgian heritage subtly but powerfully shapes the song’s DNA. The influence of Georgian musical traditions is evident in her harmonic choices, layered vocal textures, and storytelling sensibility. These elements give “Cordelia” a ceremonial weight, reinforced visually by the traditional Georgian details in the single’s cover artwork. Her time in Nashville further enriches the sound, blending folk, Americana, and alternative rock instincts into a globally informed musical language.
Kaye’s impressive artistic journey — from collaborations with David Olney to contributions alongside Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, and Lucinda Williams — is reflected in the confidence and scope of this release. As the first single from “Are You There?,” “Cordelia” sets a powerful tone: bold, thoughtful, and unafraid to meet a fractured world head on.