Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Although released a couple of years ago by Annie Soulshine, the album I Hate/Love My Brother seems to be only just doing the rounds here in the U.K. Like some phantom that wafts in and out of sight, to appear when you are least expecting it, it seems word of mouth keeps the album, at least on these shores going. It is a shame as the acoustic style of the pair, Annie and Felix, is quite beautiful and yet with that little hint of burning desire, the moment of anger, that worms its way through each song as if there is unfinished business needed to be resolved.

The album moves in a serene like fashion, not what the uninitiated listener may expect if they haven’t had too much experience outside of orchestra and the rock world from Germany but this folk like acoustic sound that Annie Soulshine have created is whimsical, sometimes brutal but overpoweringly committed to the music and nothing else. It is if the band is more heavily influenced by what has gone on around them and in the outside world. The music may not sound traditionally German, it is more in keeping with a world view and whilst the sibling rivalry is there for effect in the album title, the love that comes coursing out of the C.D.s veins is more evident, more natural.

The tracks that come across well are the opening song of The World Won’t Wait, the pleasant Simple Things, the fantastic Dreamin’ Out Loud and the enjoyable Hello, hello.  It sometimes is monumental to hear what can be achieved with a guitar and a great voice. In Annie Soulshine and I Hate/Love My Brother, the best of both worlds collide to make an album that might find it hard to get out of the niche market in the U.K. but if it does, it will go down a storm.

Ian D. Hall