Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Amber Wolfe - ​I Left the City

5/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Amber Wolfe

​I Left the City
self-released; 2016

3.9 out of 5

By Jamie Robash

There’s a reason nowadays that so many bands in the indie rock conglomerate are linked together. That reason is that they all live in within a two square mile radius somewhere in Brooklyn. I’m not going to name names. I have enough people in my own city that probably wish me dead on a daily basis; I don’t need a surprise knife in the back from a guy with a really cool haircut and a jean jacket. Of course these are cheap shot generalizations and there are a ton of bands that probably fit that demographic that I do actually like quite a bit. But I often wonder do I like them because of their music or do I like them because they get hyped up enough my mind makes me want to like them no matter what. But then the four-song EP I Left the City comes across my desk. The singer songwriter behind it, Amber Wolfe, is no one I’ve ever heard of and yet I am immediately drawn in by her subtle and matter of fact delivery and the sparse acoustic guitar that accompanies her on each track.

Amber Wolfe grew up in the DC area and then moved to Northampton Massachusetts in 2009 to study at Smith College where she befriended likeminded musicians. She then decided to make a permanent home in the Pioneer Valley. But when it came time to record I Left the City she returned home to Maryland and made the record with her childhood friend and longtime collaborator Tommy Sherrod.

I Left the City opens with the spare and sweet “Sugaring Season.” Soft pin pricks of acoustic guitar and Wolfe’s honeyed and warm vocals have the effect of the first warm rays of a sunrise. There is nothing special or catchy about it. It is plain and simple. Yet it sticks with you in an odd way, it is a tune you find yourself humming and smiling too long after it’s over.  Next comes the beautifully haunting tape hiss imbued “No Thorn.” Here Wolfe delights with lyrics singing, “You say that I’m beautiful, beautiful asleep / but awake / not awake.” The words seem to fall from her mouth and her tone is both questioning but it also seems that she believes there’s some truth to what she is questioning. It’s quite a contrast to the twang-y, sly Patsy Cline invoked stance she takes on “I Want More.” Wolfe returns to her dark and self-inflicted coyness on the final track “High Tides.”
​
I Left the City is about as bare bones an EP as they come. It’s hollow but not shallow. The thing is one can’t simply go on making sparse bedroom-styled recordings for too long. Sooner or later the ante has to be upped. Though Amber Wolfe has definitely sparked an interest in me and I’m sure others as well. I’m already anticipating her next move.
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band
© Divide and Conquer 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact