Rating: 5/5
Review:
A very fine album
I love Amada Shires' work.
It is quirky in a way, but often still singable and direct and she
continues her distinctive style on this excellent new album.
Marriage and impending motherhood seem to have taken some of
the spikiness from her style (probably temporarily) and these songs are more
about the subtleties of the life of the heart.
She still has the ability to create a very fine song, though and this is
a terrific, varied set. The opener, The
Way It Dimmed has a driving but subtle beat to it (with some great twangy
guitar from Jason Isbell, whose influence is detectable in a lot of places)
while Harmless is a thoughtful, delicate song about the fine lines between
friendship and the beginnings of unfaithfulness. My Love (The Storm) has a minor-key, slightly
dark but infectious feel, When You're Gone is an out-and-out rocker (and a very
good one, too) and so on. There's
probably nothing here with the sheer impact of the brilliant Devastate, but it's
really good, varied set of songs. (I'm not so keen on the Nellie-The-Elephant
feel of Nursery Rhyme, to be honest, but every album has songs which appeal
more than others.)
It's all beautifully done, with excellently crafted songs,
intelligent lyrics and very well-judged production. Shires sings with that unusual, slightly
breathy voice which sometimes cracks a little or bends notes unexpectedly and
which gives her music such a fine, individual style. In short, this is a really good album from a
very fine songwriter and performer, and I can recommend it very warmly.
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