Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Amy Vee, Wildheart Publicity 2019.
Newcastle girl Amy Vee has released her second album, Same Skin and is embarking on a six-date promotional tour of the Australian east coast kicking off in October.
Same Skin took more than a year in the making and was produced by Amy’s long-time collaborator, Gareth Hudson of Hazy Cosmic Jive Studio (Buddy Knox, Hilltop Hoods, Briggs).
The album is an interesting melange of acoustic folk and electronic instrumentation and features Amy’s rich and darkly magical vocals.
Virtually all the instruments heard on the album are played by Amy and producer Gareth.
Although Amy is best known as a guitarist she is also a classically trained pianist and dabbles in violin, bass and percussion.
The two musicians complement each other and Gareth’s production provides interesting and spacious soundscapes for the songs.
The mood of the album is one of dark mystery and there are several references to ghosts or “things that haunt us or hold us back.”
The title track, Same Skin, comes from Amy’s feelings about age: “that the exterior changes but the same feelings, beliefs, motivations, ideas and desires still exist.”
The lead single from the album, Paper and Wood, is a track that explores the idea that it sometimes takes the destruction of something to make room for creativity and re-birth.
Amy is a talented songwriter and the songs are lyrically interesting covering intense issues, thoughts and desires.
The album is a fitting follow-up to her digital-only singles, Ten Years and Red Desert Heart, both of which fared well on iTunes and Triple J Unearthed. Both tracks are included on this album.
Amy is a fully independent artist and funded Same Skin through a crowdfunding campaign.
It’s a good album by local talent and well worth looking up.
