Anja Plaschg released a new Soap&Skin single this week called “Sugarbread,” complete with the most disturbed opening vocal theatrics in her catalog to date. The title track — as unnerving as it is, and as much as we enjoy any artist pushing the envelope — makes a lesser case for purchase than the B-sides, which cut deeper with less NSFW provocations. “Pray” is a sparse piano ballad akin to standouts on her 2012 LP, Narrow, while this lush version of “Me and the Devil” finds Plaschg’s intensity at home in blues great Robert Johnson’s despondent netherworld. Her take on “I’ll Be Your Mirror” hinged on mirroring the Velvet Underground too closely, perhaps, but this one reveals an inspired re-imagination of both genre and craft. Hear it above.
