"let me fall from your fingertips"
Spider in the Snow by Born Again Virgin, the musical moniker of Anna Roenigk is as utterly surprising as it is artistically resilient. When I first heard it I was easily captivated by Roenigk's vocal aesthetic and her absolute ability to shed her protective skin and lay bare her emotions floating among her textured electric guitar notes:
"I’ll try not to read / all your favorite books / Or think of how you look when you’re lying fast asleep / I’ll try not to trace the dark lines under your eyes / when you dream"
Roenigk's lyrical poetry tugs hard at you but with an unflinching grace that is rooted in flesh and blood realities over thorns on rose stems.
Love her words and the deep resonance of her melodies so at this point (in this first listen) I am fully emotionally invested. Roenigk has got me. That moment when you realize that you are being swept up in a piece of art is a wonderful thing really and, in some way, you settle in a comfortable internal place because you know that you are going to be swept up further.
Press notes indicate that Austin, Texas bred Anna Roenigk (aka Born Again Virgin), uprooted her life last year to make the move to London. Much like her influences, ‘Spider in the Snow’ is a result of these two sparing environments. Recorded predominantly in the UK. but with drums done in Austin with Greg Clifford (White Denim)... and I like the line "sparing environment" because the upcoming tonal shift in this song is so dramatic. So much so that when I responded to her record label that I would love to feature this song I actually wrote "the sonic shift here is surprising and not even sure if I like it (ha) but vocal aesthetic is amazing-". Both key points are still true after multiple listens but, clearly, I am utterly sure that I love this song and to whatever degree that brash or planned or whatever move all the way to London informed this song then I will be forever grateful for her journey. The seismic shift at 1 minute and 42 seconds is so exquisitely beautiful and powerful.
Spider in the Snow doesn't only transform but flips on it's head from 'singer-songwriter' to a post punk ballad of sorts as the song's narrative becomes even more powerful:
"I’ll be your spider in the snow waiting for you / and if you love me let me go / let me fall from your fingertips from a height I've never known"
The tonal shift with a barrage of guitar, drums, bass with staggered downbeats and dynamic shifts that, at one point, settles into a sort of almost 60's torch rock song but then twists inside out. Guitars bend into uncomfortable places, piercing leads, and half step dissonance stab you in the heart as Roenigk bleeds openly. The sonic artistry is so startlingly beautiful that for a few seconds my senses turned away from the poetry, the words, the narrative but that is ok. As, I mentioned earlier, I have been back to revel in this song many times over.
In the end, "Spider in the Snow" by Born Again Virgin (aka singer-songwriter Anna Roenigk -transplanted Londoner by way of Austin, Texas) feels (to me) like a purely wrought gutsy artful affair running the gamut of visceral emotions, a quiet pained reflection that turns into a storm of resolute longing and cold acceptance.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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Following the independent release of her much acclaimed, self-titled debut EP produced by Brian Beattie (Bill Callahan, Daniel Johnston, Okkervil River), ‘Spider in the Snow’ is Born Again Virgin’s hugely ambitious follow up single on My Little Empire Records - coming 31st July.
Growing up around Austin, Texas, a restless Anna Roenigk (aka Born Again Virgin), uprooted her life last year to make the move to London. Much like her influences, ‘Spider in the Snow’ is a result of these two sparing environments. Recorded predominantly in the UK. but with drums done in Austin with Greg Clifford (White Denim) it’s a swirling masterpiece, pulling in influences from the theatrics of Rufus Wainwright, the rawness of 90’s grunge and the lyrical inspiration of Dean Young’s poetic collection ‘Fall Higher’ - “Hark Dumbass, the error is not to fall but to fall from no height.” Roenigk explains that she saw that line as being “courageous enough to take a chance on something or someone because either way we are all going to fall, whether it’s from a height or tripping over our own feet.”
All of this is laid bare on ‘Spider in the Snow’, which is both ambitious and dynamic; shifting between the soft, reverbed contemplation of its intro, to a swirling and gutsy chorus of distortion and thundering drums.
Out 31st July on My Little Empire Records, this is a marker setting out Born Again Virgin as a hugely exciting emerging talent.
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