AMY LAVERE

STRANGER ME

2011-07-20

On her third full length disc, singer/songwriter and upright bass player Amy LaVere turns her pain at the loss of a long term relationship into a compelling listen. Accompanied by a large support cast that adds wailing horns, violins and all manner of sonic oddities including toy piano, Buddha boxes and a Theremin, LaVere leaves the comfort zone of the more traditional folk that marked her first two releases in favor of rock that recalls AC/DC, "Damn Love Song", Go-Go’s style pop, "You Can’t Keep Me", lounge lizard jazz, "A Great Divide", soulful ballads, "Lucky Boy", melancholy folk that will have Lucinda Williams looking over her shoulder, "Tricky Heart" and twangy roots rock, "Stranger Me". With a nimble voice that alternately recalls Rickie Lee Jones (particularly on "Cry My Eyes Out") and Texan Terri Hendrix, LaVere negotiates the tricky sonic landscape without a false note. While most of the material here is original, LaVere also takes the listener into the wondrously strange land of Captain Beefheart, "Candle Mambo", and lays down a slow, scorching cover of swamp rocker Bobby Charles’ "Let Yourself Go (Come On)". As much as I enjoyed her earlier efforts, I didn’t see this one coming. You need it on your play list. Smitty Amylavere.com Archer-records.com

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• AMY LAVERE
• Archer Records