mp3: "Spill" - Amy O
words: Michael Brooks
"Spill", the latest single from Amy O's forthcoming album, gently glides and breezes along, striking the perfect balance between somber and beautiful. Prior singles "Lavender Night" (which sounds like Frankie Cosmos with her amps cranked to eleven) and "History Walking" (imagine Adult Mom covering the theme from Scooby Doo) showed that Amy O was taking a bold direction on this album and "Spill" continues to push their sound into new directions. The slow burning song builds upon a warm keyboard adding guitar and tambourine to its hushed arrangement. Amy O has always had the ability to stuff an entire album worth of ideas into a two minute song but on "Spill" she dials it down and instead chooses to lure the listener in with almost hypnotic vocal lines. As with earlier singles, the lyrics on this one address the death of Amy O's grandmother, and the triumph of this song takes place during the moments where Amy O finds strength in herself. The repeated line of "open the bedroom window feel the air" becomes a moment of catharsis, reminding the listener to take a moment and breathe when life becomes overwhelming.
Elastic is out on 8/4 via Winspear records.