GRAMMY-winner Amanda Shires’ latest record ‘Nobody’s Girl,’ from ATO Records, is a melancholic vulnerable journey for the singer-songwriter, offering 12 Americana tracks that promise to emotionally expose then heal and the lead to inevitable empowerment.
Shires dives deep into the end of a big relationship (her divorce from Jason Isbell was finalised earlier this year), with loss and grief the clear song subjects, that will resonate with anyone else hurting this much, as Shires does on most of the album.
Lead single ‘A Way It Goes’, co-written and produced with Lawrence Rothman is delicate, with Shires’ soft voice harmonising to a subtle instrumentation, offering raw lyrics like, “I could tell you I felt like I was dying / Hugged my knees to my chest crying.” In their years together, Shires and Isbell always delivered deep with their reality in their songs and Shires continues that here, alone.
Shires plays fiddle, tenor guitar, and ukulele, all gentle instruments, and this level of sadness was hard to keep listening to without several breaks, making it a somewhat disjointed listening experience – I prefer to listen to an album in full when I’m reviewing it, so I can see how the songs have been situated together, what journey the artist wants to take the listener on. ‘Nobody’s Girl’ is the light crying in the corner of a bar, bottle of red nearby kind of listen.
‘Maybe I’ sees Shires channelling a voice that reminds me of a Dolly ballad, fluttering quietly like the wings of a butterfly, to emphasise a vulnerable moment.
At times there was a rockier, guitar-laden sound, offering hope, like on ‘Piece of Mind’, yet Shires’ vocals didn’t reach across the music like the music suggested it needed. ‘Strange Dreams’ also provided the juxtaposition of sixth gear music, and the gentle vocals are at times at odds with the energy, though Shires’ harmonies work alongside the music.
The album closer, ‘Not Feeling Anything’ is a wistful vocal meander, holding on to a future without the sadness, hopefully giving Shires a platform for rebuilding a life after the break-up of a life that you thought would last forever; the fiddle is a great light to signal the next steps or her and the path forward where she might become ‘Somebody’s Girl’ once again.
Track listing: 1. Intro: Invocation 2. A Way It Goes 3. Maybe I 4. The Details 5. Living 6. Lose It For A While 7. Piece of Mind 8. Streetlights and Stars 9. Lately 10. Friend Zone 11. Strange Dreams 12. Can’t Hold Your Breath 13. Not Feeling Anything Release Date: 26th September Record Label: ATO Records Buy ‘Nobody’s Girl’ right here.
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