ANNA FRITZ

“Portland Cello Project co-founder Anna Fritz has played on albums by My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses, the Decemberists, Dirty Projectors, and Case/Lang/Veirs. But the third album under her own name is a true solo effort. Her versatile cello serves variously as a percussion, accompanying, counterpoint, rhythm and lead instrument, leaving plenty of space for Fritz’s plainspoken voice and heartfelt sentiments. Summoning the spirit of the social protest music of the 1950s and early ‘60s folk revival, the topical anthems on Fritz’s new release, On A High Hill, address contemporary concerns like climate change, racial injustice and resistance to coal and oil “bomb” trains, along with more personal concerns.” - Brett Campbell

“In the Portland Cello Project, Anna Fritz plays a supporting role in crafting string renditions of contemporary pop, hiphop, and metal songs. In an ensemble that large, it's sometimes easy to become part of the wallpaper. But on her sophomore solo album, The Gospel of Tree Bark, Fritz escapes the shadows, building politically charged manifestos through slightly unhinged timbres and, sure, lots of cello. But Fritz is no one-cello pony; the album's second track, 'On Wisconsin,' is a scathing ode to protest, featuring 99 percenter lyrics like 'Inside there are men in charge who don't care if our children starve/Our public servants serve themselves, and they tell us all to go to hell.' It's that distrustful bent that makes Gospel an eerie, satisfying soothing listen. ” - Ryan J. Prado

“Anna Fritz has had plenty of cello work over the past few years. As a member of the Portland Cello Project, she's been able to put the instrument, and her talent, to use on interpretations of metal songs (Pantera), a host of hip-hop tracks (Kanye West, Jay-Z and others), and, most recently, the group's run at Beck's sheet music-only project, 'Song Reader.' In the midst of that - and giving cello lessons - she found time to escape to the woods and record her second solo album, the appropriately titled The Gospel of Tree Bark. Earthy, calm and centered around her cello, the record goes off exploring the natural world in search of the spiritual.” - Ryan White

“In just ten tracks, Anna covers the 2011 Wisconsin labor protests, internalized misogyny, transgender rights, connections with nature (or lack of them), attempted rape, and – repeatedly – lost love. So this album is never lightweight. Instead it is filled with passion and compassion, pain and endurance. Moreover, the melancholy is balanced both by high-energy songs and by pieces that are rich and grounding. Musically, these songs are grounded in Anna’s solid abilities as a singer and cellist. A longtime member of the experimental Portland Cello Project, Anna is able to produce sounds that are rarely heard from this instrument, ranging from those in the sensual and sexy rock-and-roll track, 'TransMan,' to her heartbreaking reworking of the traditional folk song, 'The Water is Wide.' In the latter, the melody itself seems to try to take flight and then fall back to earth on the line '. . . and neither have I wings to fly.”” - Paul Christianson