Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Life is not a sentence to be endured, to be suffered and treated as a series of trials in which the only sustained answer comes with the acceptance of our lot, instead, and no matter the circumstances, it should be the experience in which we are defined, and seen to live in what should be different circumstances but nonetheless, still living, hoping and reaching our fullest potential.

Life should also always accept that it is about raising awareness, of beating down prejudice, of the pre-conceived notion that harms so many, and above all leaving a positive presence when people think of our soul or catch themselves uttering our name.

For Gemma Mae Anderson, life is such that the notion of charity could be mistaken in other people’s eyes for their own personal prejudices and yet what it actually should be and one that Gemma undertakes with great brevity, sincerity and belief, is of understanding of the hidden, the very act of compassion to which we need to still grasp properly as a society. Too often we turn away from what we cannot see, the disease under the skin, the bones that withstand much taunting, but which are being eaten away by the pain associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Raising money to fight against such a progressive disease whilst using your own talents is not only laudable, it is quite often the only way in which to truly raise that awareness, the spirt and the belief acting in union to get the message across and in Life that message is loud and clear, and played with beauty in a voice that frames that single minded approach.

With a huge range of musicians, including Pulp’s Candida Doyle, contributing to the overall sense of dynamism that the album reaches for, and quite superbly attains, songs such as Everybody Knows, Whenever There’s A You, Today We Tell The World, Take This Road and Ray Of Light are marvellous reminders that just because we cannot see the pain, does not mean it isn’t real. It can be felt in the timbre of one’s voice, in the eyes as they blaze, in the stance of the unbroken, and Gemma Mae Anderson’s very special recording is a testament to that endearing quality.

An album to which praise is not only offered, but that those who hear it will truly understand that Life is more than a sentence, it is worth volumes to those who seek it out. 

Gemma Mae Anderson’s Life is out now and available from online. 

Ian D. Hall \l