bill bodkin reviews the singer/songwriter’s new album …
Amelia White’s album Beautiful And Wild is a picture of subtlety and understatement. It has an ethereal quality about it that would perfectly soundtrack a contemplative walk on the beach or a soul-searching stroll through the countryside.
If you’re into lyrically driven music — music that really peers into the soul of artist — then Beautiful And Wild is the perfect album for you. The record is full of personal tales of love and loss, told in a universal way so anyone from any walk of life can really grab hold of and gain meaning from.
On her website, White said of the album: “I went through a bad breakup, and in Nashville when that happens, everyone calls you up to write,” she laughs before turning serious. “I felt myself open to chaotic, fleeting love, the kind that can really sting. I found myself drawn to friends going through the same thing.”
In short, the album is one of sadness, catharsis and eventual renewal. Sure, it has its sad moments, but there’s always this tinge of hope buried within every song. And if you’ve gone through a bad breakup (haven’t we all), isn’t it refreshing to hear that there is a way out of the sadness?
Musically, the album is a hybrid of acoustic folk, country and Americana. Like White’s voice, the sound is quite, subdued and has this kinda of laid-back way about it. Even with some more sorrowful lyrical content, the music on Beautiful And Wild is extremely easy to listen to.
If there’s a complaint to be made about the record is that the songs melt into one another. They all the same languid musicality, the same vocal patterns. With 11 songs on the album, it becomes hard to distinguish one song from the next. Some variety on the album would’ve taken what is already a solid record and made it really fantastic.
In the end, Beautiful And Wild will appeal to those who love the singer-songwriter genre, the coffeehouse soundtrack that puts the focus on the poetry of words. If you’re into that type of sound, put Amelia White on the top of your list of artists you need to be listening to.
