AMELIA CURRAN - WATERSHED
2017 - Six Shooter Records
Amelia Curran is the possessor of a beautiful and distinctive voice. I'm finding it difficult to come up with anyone to compare her to but her vocal style has the feel of some of the 'easy listening' singers of the 1960s although, and this is where it gets difficult, her songs are very much of the here and now and contain tremendous power and often tension. Even the musical style of this hugely talented Canadian singer songwriter is difficult to pin down, containing country, folk, perhaps even a little 'mainstream' pop, but certainly nowhere near enough to put me off!
Even on the tracks that have slightly more dense arrangements and production values there is still a strong rurality to all of the eleven excellent songs and performances on this album. When you add the fact that she seems to come up with ear worm melodies almost at will, what's not to love? Well, nothing actually. Whilst she is working in a top heavy field of rootsy singer songwriters Amelia has more than enough talent to rise above the pack.
This is her eighth excellent album since and including her 2008 debut 'War Brides' and whilst I'm loath to denigrate those predecessors, in my estimation, of those I've heard, this is her best yet. The quality has always been there but every song on this recording is strong and as we should probably expect there is a controlled confidence that has been building throughout her career
In some ways she reminds me of fellow Canadian singer songwriter, Oh Susanna, not so much in terms of vocal style although both are beautiful; it is more the songwriting ability and the folksy country style that is so difficult to pin down to any particular genre. She gives much of her time to being a mental health advocate, in fact this album deals with the subject of depression amongst several other negatives of the modern day, not overtly but it is there. Often there is a darkness that belies the beauty of the music, somehow enhancing the power and yet there are also oases of optimism that in many ways, whilst we may live in dark times, show there are still many patches of light and human kindness in the world. Overall it strikes me as an album of frustration at the inability much of the human race possesses in dealing with 'modern life,' but again she never loses sight of the good either, probably getting an accurate balance in which the dark is slightly ahead of the light. The overall feeling is one that suggests all we can do is push ahead and try to catch up, leaving behind those who bring the negatives to our beautiful little blue planet.
A lovely chiming melodic guitar introduces Move a mile, the first song on the album, before Amelia's lovely 'folksy' voice comes in supported by a solid percussion, excellent harmonies, tuneful electric guitar and a memorable melody. Watershed benefits from a tremendous rootsy country guitar intro, with the throbbing bass and solid percussion leaving space for Amelia's haunting vocal, again with some excellent harmonies and a strong melody. Come back for me is a beautiful haunting ballad with melodic chiming guitars and a gorgeous lead vocal from Amelia. It has a musical smoothness that is offset by the slightly suppressed chugging bass and the unusual arrangement. Next we are treated to a nice acoustic guitar intro and another beautiful vocal from Amelia on Act of human kindness with violin and brass slowly and surreptitiously easing into the mix. It is a slow moodily reflective song that as well as being melodic has great depth. Finally there is a slashing guitar sound on Try that creates tension from the off along with the dynamic percussion until Amelia's gentle, intensely feminine vocal comes in on another powerful tale. The density of the instrumentation provides an excellent counterpoint to Amelia's lovely vocals
I usually listen to and review albums that have much more of a 'rural' edginess but sometimes find it refreshing to listen to recordings that perhaps lack the raw textures but are given power by their lyrics and the tremendous arrangements and performances. Whilst this recording has a lovely mellow sound, lyrically it often has an intensely 'real edginess' making it most definitely one of those albums that will be listened to over and over again, always revealing previously missed little nuances.
http://www.ameliacurran.com/
Amelia Curran is the possessor of a beautiful and distinctive voice. I'm finding it difficult to come up with anyone to compare her to but her vocal style has the feel of some of the 'easy listening' singers of the 1960s although, and this is where it gets difficult, her songs are very much of the here and now and contain tremendous power and often tension. Even the musical style of this hugely talented Canadian singer songwriter is difficult to pin down, containing country, folk, perhaps even a little 'mainstream' pop, but certainly nowhere near enough to put me off!
Even on the tracks that have slightly more dense arrangements and production values there is still a strong rurality to all of the eleven excellent songs and performances on this album. When you add the fact that she seems to come up with ear worm melodies almost at will, what's not to love? Well, nothing actually. Whilst she is working in a top heavy field of rootsy singer songwriters Amelia has more than enough talent to rise above the pack.
This is her eighth excellent album since and including her 2008 debut 'War Brides' and whilst I'm loath to denigrate those predecessors, in my estimation, of those I've heard, this is her best yet. The quality has always been there but every song on this recording is strong and as we should probably expect there is a controlled confidence that has been building throughout her career
In some ways she reminds me of fellow Canadian singer songwriter, Oh Susanna, not so much in terms of vocal style although both are beautiful; it is more the songwriting ability and the folksy country style that is so difficult to pin down to any particular genre. She gives much of her time to being a mental health advocate, in fact this album deals with the subject of depression amongst several other negatives of the modern day, not overtly but it is there. Often there is a darkness that belies the beauty of the music, somehow enhancing the power and yet there are also oases of optimism that in many ways, whilst we may live in dark times, show there are still many patches of light and human kindness in the world. Overall it strikes me as an album of frustration at the inability much of the human race possesses in dealing with 'modern life,' but again she never loses sight of the good either, probably getting an accurate balance in which the dark is slightly ahead of the light. The overall feeling is one that suggests all we can do is push ahead and try to catch up, leaving behind those who bring the negatives to our beautiful little blue planet.
A lovely chiming melodic guitar introduces Move a mile, the first song on the album, before Amelia's lovely 'folksy' voice comes in supported by a solid percussion, excellent harmonies, tuneful electric guitar and a memorable melody. Watershed benefits from a tremendous rootsy country guitar intro, with the throbbing bass and solid percussion leaving space for Amelia's haunting vocal, again with some excellent harmonies and a strong melody. Come back for me is a beautiful haunting ballad with melodic chiming guitars and a gorgeous lead vocal from Amelia. It has a musical smoothness that is offset by the slightly suppressed chugging bass and the unusual arrangement. Next we are treated to a nice acoustic guitar intro and another beautiful vocal from Amelia on Act of human kindness with violin and brass slowly and surreptitiously easing into the mix. It is a slow moodily reflective song that as well as being melodic has great depth. Finally there is a slashing guitar sound on Try that creates tension from the off along with the dynamic percussion until Amelia's gentle, intensely feminine vocal comes in on another powerful tale. The density of the instrumentation provides an excellent counterpoint to Amelia's lovely vocals
I usually listen to and review albums that have much more of a 'rural' edginess but sometimes find it refreshing to listen to recordings that perhaps lack the raw textures but are given power by their lyrics and the tremendous arrangements and performances. Whilst this recording has a lovely mellow sound, lyrically it often has an intensely 'real edginess' making it most definitely one of those albums that will be listened to over and over again, always revealing previously missed little nuances.
http://www.ameliacurran.com/