Anam Danu – Winds of Change (Single Review)

In today’s review, a familiar act returns. One that I think etches itself in the stone of today’s releases by making music that is genuinely quite hard to find today. They replicate a feel from older songs that is quite hard to truly ’emulate’ without it being fake or sounding somewhat commercial. It sounds organic, deliberate, contemplative and overall quite pleasant and fascinating. Meet Anam Danu.

Anam Danu is a collaboration that began between two musicians originating from different continents, uniting as one through their shared Celtic heritage. They set out to create original, unusual and innovative adult-oriented pop music on the West Coast of Canada. The group has undergone many trials and reformulations, initially starting with vocalist/pianist Siobhan Monaghan and songwriter Andy Dawson Reid joining forces in 2019. 

The two of them combined brought a trove of musical knowledge simply waiting to be fused and expressed. They also strengthened their connection based on a shared love for classic pop songs and their unwavering ambition. That symbiosis led to a third member, the experienced soprano vocalist, Adrienne Dyer, joining to help execute their vision to life. We’ve covered the details of their line-up and credentials here, so please do click on the hyperlink if you’d like to gain some context to their artistry.

This time they’ve crafted a new release titled Winds of Change, released in July of 2025. The backstory and the image of the single is described as such:

“Winds of Change” started with the now familiar image of the haze of smoke in the air from the wildfires that are these days a feature of North American summers and grew into a protest song – not just on behalf of the climate but also encompassing the West’s apparent inability to conduct its political affairs with any degree of decorum or dignity… or competence!

In their classic brand of sophisti-pop mixed with contemporary pop, the introduction really reminds me of the song ‘Sat in Your Lap’ by Kate Bush. Not only in terms of the similarity of the percussion segment, but in terms of songwriting and the general compositional structure of the song. Maybe it is something epigenetic within the members of the band, but it definitely delivers in brilliance and competence.

The mastering, in a strange way, really matches the feel of the track. It isn’t as crystal-clear as modern tracks would usually sound, but the slight noise helps to give the track a dated but modern feel. I’d say the song is dynamic, almost going in a cyclic fashion if I were to transcribe the notes. The melodic segments help to give the sense of ‘alarm’, an interesting motif I’ve seen people use with guitars especially within the 90s- think of the ending credits of the show ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ or the theme song for ‘ER’.

The vocals are beautiful, sonically and in terms of its message. It really, truly needs to be heard from an artistic and scientific perspective, because of its message. It’s mystic, alarmist, but also extremely compelling.

Score/Excellent: Anam Danu definitely delivers with their niche of music, with Winds of Change having an important message embedded between a soundscape that’s just as dynamic as it is alarming. There’s also a bit of detail ascribed to nostalgia within this track that truly sets it apart. It sounds vintage, but new at the same time.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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or, on their Official Website