by Joseph Purcell

A decade in the making, the debut release from Canadian, Dorothea Paas, is a transcendent journey of intimacy and resilience

The tracks on Anything Can’t Happen have been through a journey almost as varied as their creator. Initially imagined as intimate reflections, they now arrive in finished form – having withstood the disparate array of influences.

Across its nine tracks, Paas slowly conjures her spellbinding mystique. Her vocal blooms like the early buds of spring emerging from the last clutch of winter frost before melting into the intricate folk chimes at her back. Yet, it is in her conversational lyrical style that Paas makes the greatest impact. Her voice is warm – her tone somewhat akin to her compatriot, Joni Mitchell – and it is as if Paas is welcoming you into her most intimate thoughts. On Waves Rising, she declares – ‘It’s not easy to love/It’s easy to hide and boil over with rage,’ detailing an identifiable emotional tumult. This continues on the stunning Frozen Window, as Paas documents a hopeful concept of universal love, ‘But against all odds, I will open to love again, like a plant searches for light through a frozen window.’

The initial fragility dissipates throughout the record, as Paas’ journey is boldly drawn to its concluding moment on Running Under my Life. Taking stock she proclaims, ‘I’m not lonely now, doing all the things I want to and working on my mind,’ as the track shifts into a synth heavy meditation of grief and heartbreak. Paas draws breath to reflect on loss, separation and her new reality – ‘I don’t ever have to explain my ideas to you ever again/ I don’t share the things I love with you anymore/ Some things you don’t get to see/ Some things are just for me,’ she poignantly muses.

The final statement to her debut release exudes the sense of resilience that is at the very core of Paas’ songwriting. Her message is one of encouragement and hope – even in the darkest moments. She resolves to be undeterred and to always try; this is Paas’ message to us and one that has given her the resolve to release a record that has certainly been worth the wait.

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