Amy Jay – Mnemonics
There are 10 musical devices in NY-based indie alt-folk singer Amy Jay’s Mnemonics (Dropped Nov 7/Mother West/51:00). Ms. Jay designs her music with a therapeutic approach, posing themes such as how do you love yourself when you don’t feel likable. The melodies are prickly; Amy’s observations can be like the short laughter in awkward situations. If nothing else, Ms. Jay curiously creates a piece of brave, interesting music that few musicians have chosen to creatively channel.
The songs are mature & by design carry some discomfort that’s intentionally created for listeners to overcome. In a few songs, her vibrato carries emotional insecurity while her control is comparatively confident. Some similar vocalists tinkered with the fuse of creativity—Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerrard, Jarboe, Kate Bush, & Nina Hagen — with mixed results. But from the onset, Amy Jay has a good sense of melody, & a bright vocal color. As strange as the subjects may seem, Amy presents her musical array with lots of appealing notes & arrangements. Its strangeness is planted in a soft, pliable soil & hence, gives birth to blossoms & not poison ivy.
“Margins” is an impressionistic piece. Well expressed, gothic in spots with exceptional backing. The Dead Can Dance comparison is more evident on “The Critic.” While the effects are minimal, the application is transformative. Unraveling like linen. The addition of drum beats, contrary to the light melody, creates a striking contrast with Amy’s ethereal vocals. Not as delirious as Enya, or Sarah McLachlan, but drifting…drifting like a benevolent apparition from the speakers.
“Back To What’s Natural” is more mainstream in its guitar conformity. A distant cousin to the elusive ‘60s Shangri-Las minor pop hit “The Sweet Sounds of Summer” with its other-worldly instrumental break & expressive vocals far & away from the regular simplistic mind-numbing pop appeal of the time. Amy Jay finds a good groove with “Can’t Go Back” — layered moodily. It has mainstream potential & her voice is sufficiently ensconced between the artist & the listener. There’s a sensitivity at work here.
The music is void of blues influences, so I assume there’s a classical thread, a Medieval weave. A song like “Floral Comfort” is a soundscape — the emotion is not in the song itself, but in the words. This is not foot-stomping Friday night dance music. It’s not beer music, it’s more…brandy laced. Amy’s breathy, diaphanous voice is expressive. At first, I thought it’d be strange, mystical. But it has relevance in a sophisticated way.
Highlights – “How The Mind Can Be a Trap,” “Margins,” “The Critic,” “Back To What’s Natural,” “Can’t Go Back,” “Floral Comfort,” “The Little Things,” & “Compassion.”
Musicians – Sam Skinner (guitar), Margaux (Katy Kirby) & Jeremy McDonald (bass), Jason Burger & Jordan Rose (drums), Andrew Freedman (piano/synths) & Jon Seale (additional vocals/odds & ends).
Image courtesy of Amy’s Bandcamp site. CD @ Amazon & https://www.amyjaymusic.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Listen: Premiere of Amy Jay’s “Grief”