Posts Tagged: amy macdonald

2008 / 4 stars / reviews / years of rice and salt — No Comments
27
Feb 09

Service Bell EP (2008) by Years of Rice and Salt

Service Bell EP by Years of Rice and Salt

Years of Rice and Salt
Service Bell EP
2008, independent
post-rock, folk
4

Okay, so I won’t deny that I’ve been on a ‘post-rock’ craze recently. After hearing about five different bands/artists, I have to say that if you’re heard one you’ve pretty much heard them all. That assumption could be attributed to Years of Rice and Salt as well, except for one key factor: they’re far more folk than they are post-rock. Their Service Bell EP is supposed to be a story of a shipwreck in four songs, but it really sounded like a story about life with its poignant memories of the past and hopes for the future. That’s a bit flowery for something that’s pretty much lyric-less, but this EP stands out amongst the rest. Here’s another saying of mine: I can’t wait until they mature a little more. For once, I really mean it.

“(Rearranging) Deckchairs,” “Splendid Isolation.”
myspace, last.fm
Explosion In the Sky’s The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place>, Amy Macdonald’s This Is The Life

Disclosure: A free copy of this EP was obtained via the band’s last.fm page. Please see my review policy for more.

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2007 / 5 stars / brandi carlile / reviews — No Comments
10
Dec 08

The Story (2007) by Brandi Carlile

Genre: folk rock
Rating:
“Again Today,” “Josephine,” “Losing Heart,” and “The Story.”
myspace, last.fm
Catherine Feeny’s Hurricane Glass, Amy Macdonald’s This is the Life

With a voice that evokes comparisons to Melissa Etheridge and Stevie Nicks and songs that are richly lyrical, it’s little wonder that I fell in love with Brandi Carlile at first listen. She is truly a ‘voice of a generation,’ even if that generation could be better compared to the 1970s than the early 2000s. Regardless, I found myself moved not only by her mastery of her vocal talent, but by the underlying hint that she doesn’t take herself as seriously as most female singer/songwriters do.

This album, in itself, is a dream. Most of the songs have to do with lost love, but even those songs are versatile enough to apply to nearly anything in life. What’s also surprisingly versatile is Carlile’s voice. Etheridge and Nicks are better known for their screams and voice, respectively, but Carlile carries a harmony like no one’s business and manages to do it well. Had she imitated Catherine Feeny and kept her voice at a monotone, this album would have surely suffered for it. But she doesn’t seem capable of it, so songs that should be boring are rich with life. This is yet another amazing discovery in the ever-changing folk rock scene of today.

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2007 / 5 stars / amy macdonald / reviews — No Comments
2
Mar 08

This is the Life (2007) by Amy Macdonald

Genre: folk, pop, acoustic/indie
Rating:
Check Out: “Let’s Start A Band,” “L.A.,” “Footballer’s Wife,” and “Run.”
myspace, website

Only a 20-year-old, Amy Macdonald has a masterful voice that immediately brings to mind Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries. It’s surprising that such a strong voice can come from someone so young, but once you hear her lyrics you’ll be even more impressed by her maturity. At the age of 15, she wrote the song “Youth of Today,” which sounds like every teenager’s power anthem. But the fact that she was so young and yet so jaded catches your ear like nothing else. “Footballer’s Wife” is a great stance on the celebrities of today, while “Let’s Start A Band” has a mysterious beauty to it.

My one complaint about this album is the production and some of the lyrics. As “The Road to Home” shows, Macdonald is perfect with acoustic songs; so why the effort to add violins and layers in songs that don’t need them? Perhaps it’s an effort to attract the ears of listeners her age, but it seems a sad attempt. And while the lyrics aren’t always perfect, her voice makes this a masterful debut album. After all, it’s already gone platinum.

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