Artwork by
Bron: www.amoslee.com
Amos Lee turns up the groove
Ever since Amos Lee released his
self-titled debut album back in 2005, his name has been a present one in
popular music. Rising to fame with hit track "Arms of a Woman", Lee
quickly took an important place in the American music business. Now, more than
eleven years later, Amos Lee releases his sixth studio album,
"Spirit". And where the gospel spirit was present in his music from
the start, Lee takes it up a notch on his latest album, grooving like never
before.
In the first three songs, Amos Lee manages
to capture you whole. The mellow groove and soulful vocals start the record off
perfectly, and Lee immediately makes a beautiful statement about love, faith
and life. The amazing bass line in "Running Out of Time" makes it
memorable from the first spin, where the sweet piano in "Spirit" takes
you in right away.
The record is built up beautifully, with
loads of tasty drum lines, bass lines that make you wanna dance, and then the
choirs... Brilliantly orchestrated, smoothly built up, at times leading to
climaxes higher than Lee has reached. A great example of this is the sweet
"One Lonely Light", right in the middle of the album. This song seems
to slow the album down a pace or two, but not to the point where it gets dull.
On the contrary! With songs like "Till You Come Back Through",
"Walls", "Hurt Me", and leading single
"Vaporize", Lee finds a great way to end this album; different than
it started, but with a sense of content, it is supposed to end like this.
Previous mentioned song "Vaporize" proves to be an absolute highlight
of this album, full of lyrics typical to Amos Lee, but with a groove that seems
new, refreshing.
Lyric-wise, the album is classic Amos Lee.
It's about heartbreak, life, faith, and self-reflection. Not groundbreaking or
revolutionary, but it works. In a way that is so typical to Amos Lee, he
manages to write about his previous relationships in a way that call for hope,
for better things to come. And even when he sings about his losses and his
wrongs, Lee does never come across as pathetic or wanting your pity; he knows
what went wrong, and now he's telling you. This is effectively portrayed in the
song "Hurt me", where he sings "I don't want your mercy, tonight
/ I want to feel the devil in your eyes / are you strong enough to watch me die?".
It is obvious that Lee decided to take a
different approach to this song, and the entire album for that matter, than he
did before. And every spin of the album makes it even more obvious how
beautiful it is. Amos Lee is at his best when singing about pain and loss of
love, here's to hoping he won't stop doing it any time soon!
Top Songs:
- Vaporize
- Hurt Me
- Spirit
- One Lonely Light
Best Lyric:
Late at night while I lie awake watching you so peacefully
Oh, a fantasy of how you're gonna set me free
'Cause this brutal truth is too true to deny
And I'm begging you to free the pain that locks me up inside
("Hurt Me")
Musicians:
Amos Lee - Vocals, Guitars
Adam Blackstone - Bass
Mark Colenburg - Drums
David Stream - Keyboard
Zach Djanikian - Guitars, Saxophone
Andy Keenan - Guitars, Saxophone
Annie Clements - Bass
Fred Berman - Drums
Producer:
Ryan Anthony Massaro (Amos Lee)
Recorded
Ocean Way, Nashville, TN
Released:
19 august 2016
Reviewed by:
Thijs Grootveld
Rating:
8,5/10
