Following the releases through the last few months, February 20 sees the release of Amanda Easton’s third long-player “Wallflower”, available independently through her Bandcamp page, her website, through the usual platforms, or through Renaissance Records in the US on vinyl.
Linking beautifully to “Postcards”, the opening track “Girl in the Song” set the tone for his collection, as pre-empted by my review of that single last month. The rest of the record, though, draws on the influences of her Chanteuse (2007) and Out of the Blue (2013) releases. Circle of Light uses dancy, trancy, Alison Goldfrapp meets Shirley Bassey on any James Bond soundtrack tropes with heavy emphasis on those organ bass-pedals!
Amanda is no wallflower, so where she got the inspiration for this record is anyone’s guess. Her press suggests a noir influence which is very prominent in the bass progression, building to a sultry crescendo. Passive smoking has put an end to smoky barrooms, but this sexy track will bring them right back, if only in the minds of those of us old enough to remember them. The hook for the third single Walk the Skies is achingly familiar, with the r’n’b drums and drum ‘n’ bass/synth combo a great addition to any chill set. At the Door, the second single, is in the style established by Postcards, but very Shakespear’s Sister “Stay”; a heartbreaking surprising-end-of-lengthy-relationship. Conversation breaks out the acoustic-guitar for this ballad, similar to Brian May’s Love Of My Life stylistically and lyrically.
Forget about the white lines .. Linea Nigra is a tribute to Naomi Campbell and all those women of colour that have come since .. seductively strolling the catwalk for nothing less than her daily going-rate and rider. Woah!! And if the video for Don’t Even Take Off Your Coat isn’t shot over his shoulder as she puts it in no uncertain terms, it should be! “I don’t love you too … don’t even cry”, she says, in a very matter-of-fact “I should have changed that stupid lock, I should have made you leave your key” manner. Very, very noir: The credits don’t mention a double/acoustic bass so the keyboard effects in this octave are quite authentic!
As the album title and general feel of this collection suggests, residents and transients of the Boulevard of Broken Dreams (song or image) feature heavily throughout this record. Shadow on the Boulevard, though, is less broken and more dreamy with those heavy vintage synth sounds. My standout and perhaps single No.4. Don’t Forget you Love Me opens with the lady solo at her keyboard, employing some vintage Gary Wright synth ever so slightly underneath her own harmony. Overcome brings it back to the Goldfrapp does Bassey to close the official album.
Girl (Retro Modern Remix) brings the record around full circle as a bonus track for those impressed enough to buy the album on any format; the Retro Modern Remix of the first single is a trippy version with r’n’b drums, an anthemic key effects, and a vocaliser during the middle-8. Fans of Lana Del Rey, Norah Jones, Portishead, the Goldfrapp collective, and the electronic pop/trip-hop theatrical genres of the mid-late 00s/early-mid 10s will enjoy Amanda Easton’s current direction. The solid foundation of “Postcards” a great springboard for “Wallflower” and reproduction in a live setting will be the next aspect of this release I look forward to sampling!
*Wild Cat Records releases Amanda’s work worldwide on all current formats; Renaissance Records in Birmingham Alabama will be distributing “Wallflower” in the vinyl format. See Amanda’s Bandcamp page or official website for more details.