I’ve had a lovely weekend filled with great
music. I even bought some new albums, including the new Leonard Cohen, the new
Bonnie Prince Billy and an old record by Gene Clark. However, I’ll talk about
those when I roll them.
As for this next record, I could have reviewed
it over the weekend, but I was enjoying it so much I decided to give it one
more day of listening time.
Disc 1320 is… They Promised You Mercy
Artist:
Amelia Curran
Year of Release: 2014
What’s up with the
Cover?
It’s an old-timey portrait of Amelia Curran. She looks a bit pale here, like
she’s either getting over the flu or maybe just spent a lot of time in the
studio.
How I Came to Know
It: I read a review of her 2017
album, “Watershed” (reviewed back at Disc 1226) that got me interested in
her music. Then I drilled through her back catalogue, discovering “They
Promised You Mercy” along the way.
How It Stacks Up: Amelia Curran has eight studio albums but only
“Watershed” and this one have thus far caught my attention sufficient to elicit
a purchase. I’ve since parted ways with “Watershed” (on friendly terms). Even
if it had not, “They Promised You Mercy” is easily my favourite.
Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5
It’s not easy to manage both catchy and
emotionally resonant in a single record, but on “They Promised You Mercy”
Amelia Curran does just that. This record makes you want to tap your toes and
look wistfully out a rain-streaked window at the same time.
At its heart, with its basic melodies and
unadorned beauty this record is folk music, but I was tempted to label it ‘pop’
because of how damned catchy it is. It was a hard decision because, as every critic
knows, arbitrary labels are critical to musical enjoyment. Just kidding – it’s
the other thing.
Great records transcend labels and leave you
with a feeling that is bigger than any arbitrary categorization. I still labelled
it though (folk, by the way) not because it is just the one thing, but because
I’ve got all these damned search options down the right-hand side and I think
people looking for folk will be glad to find it.
In the end the catchiness is not from the sugary
beats of pop music though, but rather from basic variations on up tempo guitar
strums and licks that belie the thoughtful lyrics underneath. Some of the
guitar sounds like Steve Earle, so maybe I should’ve gone with country. Stupid
labels.
On top of those simple guitar strums, Curran’s
vocals shine plain as truth. She’s a strong singer with a thick and resonant
tone, but she doesn’t show off with a bunch of vocal gymnastics and is content
to ride the melody and sing the story. In doing this she avoids the common pitfall
of so many vocalists that feel the need to warble or throw in runs which don’t serve
the song.
Instead, she holds you with the clarity of inspired
phrasing and crystal-clear enunciation. Fans of Brandi Carlile (now relatively famous)
and Heather Maloney (not famous yet but damned well should be) will recognize a
like spirit in Curran’s approach and delivery.
Like them, she sings as though she’s caught
halfway between the power of a truth that needs to be testified, and the whisper
of an insistent memory that rises unbidden and refuses to fade.
This can give you some great range of emotion weaved
into all that basic guitar strummin’, from the rising desire of “Coming for
You”:
“I’m coming for you like a final
round
I’m coming for you like a tempted
hound
I’m coming for you like fury and
sound.”
To thoughtful contemplation when love and life
deal us a little loss and uncertainty on “The Reverie”:
“Am I born, am I born
Of the vine or of the thorn?
Am I holding to the sky or to the
storm?”
There is tension locked in both
songs, but the first is from the exertion of will on the external world, and the
second from that same will, twisted inward. Curran rides them both with a relaxed
and understated power. There’s a lot going on in the depths, but she keeps
moving, sometimes the swimmer, sometimes the water.
Regardless of what effect she’s going for,
Curran’s power over language is exceptional. She doesn’t have to knock you flat
with vocal prowess because she accomplishes even more with her poetic gift and a
simple, well-timed delivery. The effect is like a good Italian meal – only two
or three ingredients, but in exactly the right proportion.
In short, if you like to dine on contemporary
folk music, you will be hard pressed to find better.
Best tracks: Somebody Somewhere, Coming for You, I Am the Night,
Time Time, The Reverie, The Matador, Strike the Band, You’ve Changed
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