Tag Archives: To The Sunset

Collaborations

How Different People Hear the Same Songs: a Collaboration With the Cheap seat Report

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I said I had something different planned for Amanda Shires’ excellent new album besides the review. It’s an idea that came from my friend and fellow writer Michael Rauch, of The Cheap Seat Report. By the way, definitely check that blog out; Michael writes only about music he enjoys and from multiple genres, and he’s always got some interesting new music. Anyway, his idea was to look at how different people react to hearing the same song–he explains it better below–and he did a piece like this awhile back with another friend and writer that I absolutely loved. WE both really got into Amanda shires’ latest album, so it seemed natural to ask him to do this again. These are all real-time reactions as we listened to each of the songs on the album.

People listen to music differently. And that’s a good thing. Some people need meaningful lyrics, some need the instrumentation to be spot on. Some need familiar, some need interesting. I lean towards interesting and unexpected and good. Amanda Shires delivers on all of those.

“Parking Lot Pirouette”

I’m not one to interpret lyrics, that is for each individual listener, but these lyrics are great. It’s also a way to ease the listener into the fact that this is not going to be the Amanda Shires album that you were expecting.

What a way to open this album, atmospheric and soaring. And I love how she writes so poetically, painting the pictures of the constellations and stars. Really good way to capture the vibe of this whole record.

“Swimmer”

This song is totally 80s era Stevie Nicks. Which in my book, makes it awesome.

This is an older Shires song, but this version is better and fits better here with this production. Also nice track placement after “pirouette,” as both reflect images of desire.

“Leave It Alone”

Bubblegum pop for grownups. But if you go back and listen to a lot of bubblegum, it wasn’t just unicorns and rainbows either.

We’ve been hinting at desire, and all of it comes out in full force here. The effects on her vocals really add to this, making everything almost echo. I love the melody, the sound, the beautiful words, everything. This is my favorite.

“Charms”

This sounds so familiar and soothing. The sound belies the heaviness of the lyrics.

Nice, relaxed, more tender moment after the first three. Good to see a different side to Amanda Shires here as she sings about motherhood.

“Eve’s Daughter”

This is where the album takes off for me musically. This is where we point to when we say “Amanda Shires rocks”. It’s just a kickass rock song. If you had any doubts before, this is a rock album.

And now after the softest, most introspective moment comes the hardest-charging part of the album. This is just a jam. And the fragile shakes in her voice only add to this, as this whole thing sounds so ragged musically and determined lyrically, as if she’s desperate to get this story out of her.

“Break Out the Champagne”

90s alt rock to the core. Shires is showing her true colors in her love of rock on this track.

I love the attitude in this song, as she’s just saying we should embrace life and take the good with the bad, live each day like it’s our last. The plane lost an engine? Break out the champagne. Oh, if we could all be like that and just take life as it comes!

“Take on the Dark”

Southern Gothic Go-Go’s. Nothing more needs to be said.

This is another jam, and just like in “eve’s Daughter,” here, that quality in Shires’ vocals adds to the intensity. Another anthem about everything ultimately being all right, but what makes this one so different from all the others is that she admits life’s hard, saying, “it’s okay to fall apart” and “take on the dark, without letting it take over.”

“White Feather”

This is a great song. The keyboard, the bass, and guitar weave together perfectly. Shires’ vocals are perfect. Got some Tom Petty in there.

I don’t have much to say about this one, and these two here are my least favorites. I enjoy the poetic imagery of scarecrows and feathers, but this one hasn’t stuck musically with me.

“Mirror, Mirror”

This is a torch song. Could be performed on top of a grand piano, for effect.

This one hasn’t stuck with me as much either musically, and her vocals can be distracting here, but I do really like the message and the details, as Shires is singing about all the women that other women look up to and idolize which makes them feel worse about themselves.

“Wasn’t I Paying Attention”

This one reminds me of Dire Straits, the lilting instrumentation. Not Mark Knopfler, but the guitar solo is appropriate.

What a great way to close this out, hard rocking musically and so intense lyrically. It’s the tale of a man’s last morning on earth before he committed suicide, and it strikes me listening right now how catchy the song is in spite of it. I love that, that it’s a song about this subject without being so depressing in its execution.

Conclusion: It was interesting to read these reactions while listening to these songs, and this speaks to the unique and wonderful power of music, that two people can both appreciate an album so much and yet come up with such vastly different descriptions of it and reactions to it. This was a fun little exercise, but it’s also a case for the power of music itself to hit so many people in so many different ways. It’s also a testament to the value of others’ perspectives and opinions; in a world of division, music can bring us together in discussion. This particular discussion was a fun one, and what a great album to get to listen to while doing it.

Reviews

Album Review: Amanda Shires–To the Sunset

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Rating: 9/10

Wow, what a fascinating and captivating album! From the opening notes of “Parking Lot Pirouette,” with its spacey, atmospheric production and poetic lyrics about the constellations and Aquarius, I knew this was something different and special. I have worn out this album in the past week since it became an NPR First Listen, especially in the past two days since it became available to buy, and it’s one of those records where not only could I not wait to write about it, but I also had to force myself to sit down and write about it rather than continue to listen to it over and over instead. It’s one of those albums that is exactly the reason I do this, the reason that any of us do, because when music hits you like this, you just want to share it, and thank God for this outlet where I get to do that with you all. For the record, I haven’t been an Amanda shires apologist previously, and also for the record, this isn’t like any other album she’s yet given us. It’s not country or even Americana; this is a rock album, despite its apple Music label of “singer-songwriter.” But damn, is it a good rock album, and it reminds you just how much rock and country are similar in that both are beloved genres of American music marginalized and endangered in 2018.

I mentioned that opener, “Parking Lot Pirouette,” and it may be one of the best opening tracks of the year in terms of hooking me on an album and establishing the mood of the record. desire and sensuality run heavily through the songs of To the Sunset, especially in these first three. In this opening song, the narrator is seducing her lover in a parking lot, turning around and telling him, in response to his comment that she won’t get far, “you’re right, I’m not done with you yet.” “Swimmer,” recorded on a previous Shires album in a more country fashion, deals with the daydreams of a past love, but the echoes of desire are here too, as she sings of wishing he’d “come hover over me and speak something close to me.” And then there’s “Leave it Alone,” a highlight on a stellar album, where the vocal effects work to perfection as Amanda sings of finding new places on her lover’s body, and the desire that she can’t, well, leave alone. Shires’ MFA in poetry is on full display here; it is on much of this album, but it’s especially impressive and beautiful here because there are only so many ways you can write about sex, and she does so both elegantly and sensually.

And Dave Cobb deserves a world of credit for this effort in production; this almost seems outside the confines of his Dave Cobb ways, and yet in terms of making Amanda shires and her songs come alive in the best way possible, he absolutely excels here. This may be his best production I’ve ever heard as far as bringing out the best in an artist. The distortion works excellently on the hardest rocking track here, an instantly re-playable number called “Eve’s daughter.” The shakes and tremors in Amanda’s voice would come off as frail on certain songs, or if left too bare by the arrangements, but they work instead to enhance songs like “Break out the Champagne” and the aforementioned “Parking Lot Pirouette.” It is a great case of taking one’s vocal tone and using it as an advantage; I know Amanda Shires has been self-conscious of this vocal characteristic in the past, but it only serves to add character to these songs, and that’s both a credit to her finding the right style for her voice and to Cobb’s dedication to her vision.

I could go into more detail about these songs, but I’d be here until this time tomorrow night and miss my flight tomorrow morning. Also, I have something else planned, and I don’t want to defeat the purpose of that. But I can’t say enough about this record. If you are at all into rock music, particularly 80’s rock, or if you are at all into poetic, thoughtful songwriting, please check this out. What a masterpiece, and something truly unique and fresh. Yes, this album will definitely be there in the conversation when those December lists come around. Amanda shires should be extremely proud of this.

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