Beaks
Hands down, Beaks needs more attention.
Vienna-based Anna Francesca started releasing singles just over two years ago, emerging with the killer I dropped the bottle. It is a slow, electronic retro indie track laced with cutting, clever lyrics. It is rare for an artist’s first track ever to be so well-produced. That “drip-drip, sick-sick” chorus just never gets old. But above all, the first thing that is likely to stick out when listening to Beaks is her voice. I can’t honestly say I’ve ever encountered anything terribly similar before. Verging on gender-neutral, it is exceptionally low and buttery for a girl of her age. It is a fascinating compliement to her “look”: an exceptionally tall, lanky figure. It is no wonder she is a rather established model. She is likewise a rather talented photographer. Overall, it is clear that Francesca has an eye, ear, and heart for art. She seems to create it everywhere she goes.
In the last two years, Beaks has continued to put out occasional singles. I discovered her through the Crosswalk EP, which features I dropped the bottle alongside two other tracks. Crosswalk is an exceptionally good single. The melody, lyrics, concept, and atmosphere were executed perfectly. With such little experience, Francesca effortlessly makes better groove indie than some of the indie OGs. Still, her storytelling is not on the backburner. Her lyrics feel like a glimpse into her mind - and I’m captivated. I imagine it to be a strange place up there, but it makes for utterly unique songwriting. Just listen to The unreliable narrator - a silly prompt about a human living in “ghost town” that she somehow does not make feel silly, or Bite Me, where she repeats “shes eating mice again”. Beaks is good about writing in a way that suits her voice. She will haunt you, and she embraces that.
It's also true that her singing often feels like an instrument, especially in new songs like Venom, where her voice is whispered almost entirely. Her voice is often muffled into something so soft and smooth that it truly feels like another set of strings in the song. It is embedded into her dazy, dreamy instrumentals, creating her self-proclaimed “sleepwalking with open eyes” sound.
I hope Beaks will come out with an album. At the same time, it is clear that there is something special about her process. She is an artist, overflowing with creativity into different sectors and spheres. She seems to be doing this for herself, and I wouldn’t want the pressure of an album release to take away from that. Either way, enjoy Beaks today.
