Lost In Blue is Anni’s latest solo album, released in the UK by Cold Spring records. The album features guest appearances from a host of named musical artists, that highlights the respect Hogan commands as a songwriter. Lydia Lunch, Wolfgang Flür (ex-Kraftwerk), Gavin Friday (Virgin Prunes) and Kid Congo (The Cramps, The Gun Club and the Bad Seeds) are among the artists who have contributed vocals and lyrics to an album co-produced by Dave Ball of Soft Cell fame. This all makes for a pretty exciting package, so without further ado let’s dig into the music.

Eerie opener "Lost Somewhere", begins with a simple drone leading the way before Hogan’s haunted vocal enters the equation. The song continues to build layering further instrumentation into the mix, yet never reaching overkill. The track retains a hypnotic, spacey quality throughout. "My Career" is up next, this one features King Congo on vocals. This track is all smoky lounge jazz with a laid-back vocal from Congo that doesn’t take things too seriously. Death Bed Diva features Richard Strange of Doctors of Madness on vocals. This one has a decidedly Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen vibe to it, however Strange’s humour is prevalent throughout the track’s length. This is followed by "Silk Paper" featuring Wolfgang Flür. His smoky whispered vocals make a perfect foil for the rich, jazzy musical background of the track. "Ghosts of Soho" has a beautiful jazzy vibe, one can almost see it being performed in one of the jazz clubs formerly prevalent in the Soho area of London. The track is peppered with Celine Hispiche’s sleazy street poetry. This shouldn’t perhaps work, but it really does.

We reach the album’s mid-point with the track "Blue Context", featuring the tender, cracked and vulnerable voice of Lydia Lunch. This one is a beautiful dark ballad where she lays bare her soul for all to hear. "Thunderstruck" see’s Hogan return to vocal duties. This beautifully morose track is punctuated by some lovely melancholy trumpet playing that really sets it off. Scarlet West handles the vocal duties on "Making Blackpool Rock", a rather more up-tempo number featuring some raw and emotional vocals from West, when she spits venom into the mic you really do feel her anger. Wolfgang Flür returns for the pleasant enough filler track "Golden Light". This is followed by the Gavin Friday track "Angels of Romance". This one is a personal favourite, the track has a real Leonard Cohen vibe to it, and Friday does his best to fill Cohen’s shoes amiably. At over seven minutes this is the longest track on the album and one of the best. Finally, the album’s title track "Lost in Blue" is a real bluesy number with some nice harmonica and Lennon-esque vocals from John Fiddler of Medicine Head fame. This track represents a real change of style, moving away from the jazzy torch singing of the other tracks in favour of a more blues based, rock style, however the change works and the track is a pretty good addition to the album.

Overall, Lost In Blue is a very enjoyable record, a reflective and often satirical jazz infused tribute to the singer songwriter. The influence of Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Jacques Brel can be heard throughout, the song writing is particularly robust, and the musical performances are top notch. Anni Hogan has a very good album on her hands here, and it is one I will continue to return to over the coming months.