AM

The Deli Features AM

www.amsounds.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:54:02 +0000

CD of the Month at The Deli Magazine- Future Sons & Daughters

Singer/songwriter AM isn’t a stranger to having left his musical mark right under your nose; his last LP Troubled Times had every track licensed to all sorts of projects on television and film, an impressive feat not done since Moby’s mega-hit Play. With that kind of cred, AM has already proven a strong viability with most any audience, but without the necessary weight that comes in being a well-recognized mainstay. That’s about to change with his latest LP Future Sons & Daughters, a fully developed snapshot of AM in the context of, not just the single, but the lost art of the album. Produced by Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields), this lush and multi-faceted pop work is a testament to AM’s love of retro radio, analog warmth and laser-precise melodies. Nods range from ’60s Detroit to ’70s Philly, but intends to be current with a modern palette in production. Highlight track “Fortunate Family Tree” revives roots melody awash with steady organs, loose snares and hallucinatingly wavey lead guitar lines, all signs that this is a worthy trip to a past sound, sans the cringing generally associated with homage attempts. This is pop music for the refined ear, or, rather, the ear that remembers what pop music was really always supposed to be. -Hugo Gomez

http://la.thedelimagazine.com/

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Slant Magazine Review

www.amsounds.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:55:40 +0000

“There’s a genuine soulfulness to opener “A Complete Unknown” and “When the Dust Settles,” which drinks deeply from the well of vintage Southern soul.” – Jonathan Keefe Related posts:Presales of AM’s “FS&D” Presales of AM’s “Future Sons & Daughters” Digipack CD... I Love College Radio Special thank you to all the stations playing AM’s new... AM Featured [...] Related posts:

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Clap

www.amsounds.com — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:32:23 +0000

To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world. ~Charles Dudley Warner Related posts:AM CO-SCORES A MOVIE: Man Maid My first effort at scoring a movie will be seen... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. Related posts:

AM CO-SCORES A MOVIE: Man Maid My first effort at scoring a movie will be seen...

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J. Poet Gets It

www.amsounds.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:13:24 +0000

Liked this review.

http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/2010/02/04/am-future-songs-and-daughters/

AM
Future Sons & Daughters
Writer: J. Poet

There’s a Portuguese word that perfectly fits the music of AM: Saudade.

There’s no word in English that means exactly the same thing, but saudade is a feeling most romantic souls are aware of; an emotional state that can only be expressed by a long, unwieldy English definition. In English vernacular, you might say saudade is an aching desire to recapture a feeling that no longer exists, or probably never existed, a yearning for a better, happier, more content time—probably in the past, but possibly in a future everyone knows we may never attain. Bossa Nova, fado, and Cape Verdean mourna are all heavy with saudade, as is the music AM and his band on Future Sons & Daughters.

AM has touted his love of Brazilian music, and there is, in fact, an instrumental track on Future Sons & Daughters named Jorge Ben, after the Tropicalia guitarist, singer, and composer. But like all of the music on the album, “Jorge Ben” is anything but straightforward. There’s no samba, or bossa, or even Brazilian reggae there. It’s a Memphis soul groove halfway between soul and funk, accented by Jesse Nason’s sci-fi organ and AM’s guitar teasing out sounds that bounce between spaghetti Western twang and rhythmic R&B chord clusters. Tropicalia was inspired in part by American soul music, but that’s about the only connection between the title and the propulsive rhythm that AM and his band lay down. This oblique approach is evident on the album’s 10 songs as well. The tunes all inhabit a vague emotional space that’s suggested rather than spelled out. Take “It’s Been So Long”, a duet with the feathery voiced Angela Correa, for example. AM sings, “Who’s right, who’s wrong / It doesn’t matter, ” with a resigned tone that lets you know it matters very much, even as he struggles with his confused emotions. The reverb on his vocals adds a dark Serge Gainsbourg-ish feel to the track.

The melancholy of “Darker Days” suggests a hybrid of Philly soul and Motown, with AM’s falsetto adding a touch of blue-eyed soul to the chorus, while “When the Dust Settles” floats through a haze of late ’60s psychedelia. The song starts quietly, with voice and organ creating a delicious tension, and then the chorus kicks in with clanging electric guitar. After the bridge, the guitar grows to fill an immense sonic space and AM’s vocals float off with the keys providing spacey, Theremin-like textures. AM’s phrasing here has its own inimitable pace. He breaks up his melodic lines in unexpected places, adding unexpected touches of tension and release to the music. The lyrics are poetic but vague, hinting at loss, longing, and a belief in a better tomorrow that will probably never come.

Other winners include “The Other Side”, a breezy confection that combines ukulele, spaghetti Western guitar, ’60s girl group handclaps, and rippling piano arpeggios to paint the picture of an uncertain love affair; “Leavenworth”, a simple, folky ballad, which may or may not be about being in an emotional prison, highlighted by glockenspiel, chiming electric piano, and a big thrumming bass guitar; and “A Complete Unknown”, a spunky rocker that has hints of funk and Latin music in its rhythm, without ever settling into either groove.

AM has obviously immersed himself in the sounds of the ’60s and ’70s, but he doesn’t write songs that are obvious knock offs or slavish echoes of pop hits past. His mellow tenor, and the ingenious arrangements of his band may suggest the past, but it’s the past of a soul drunk on saudade. These tunes are pure pop for now people, to plagiarize a phrase.

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IOWA LOVES AM

www.amsounds.com — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:10:01 +0000

Playlists always interest me. Special thanks to Fairfield’s KRUU 100.1fm Andy Bargerstock on Fringe Toast. Gotta get you my new record Future Sons & Daughters. Gotta get to Iowa. This station is solar powered.

Manfred Mann Earth Band	Tribute
Ambulance Ltd	Fearless	New English – EP
Owl City	The Saltwater Room	Ocean Eyes
Guster	Satellite	Ganging Up on the Sun
Guster	Fa Fa	Lost and Gone Forever
Mark Almond	Friends	Mark Almond II
Kendra Smith	Bold Maurader	All Virgos Are Mad
Amy Speace	Water Landing	Songs for Bright Street
Tristan Prettyman	A Little Bit	Hello
Jen Foster	Taking Bob Dylan	Songs from Underdogs
Jen Foster	Sun in Seattle	The Underdogs
AM	Old Song	Soul Variations
Sarah Harmer	Don’t Get Your Back Up	You Were Here
Sarah Harmer	Lodestar	You Were Here
Above & Beyond	Can’t Sleep	Can’t Sleep – EP
Copper Wimmin	Love Song	The Right to Be Here
Above & Beyond	No One on Earth (Chill Out Mix)
Verbrilli Sound	Views	Many Coloured Butterflies
Gary B	See Me Free	Cafe Del Mar., Vol. 13
Numatic Soul	Spiral Meditation	Clean Machine
Fat Freddy’s Drop	The Camel	Dr Boondigga & the Big BW
Echophlekz	Spring Vibes	Echophlekz
Faithless	The Garden	Sunday 8pm
Freezone	A Moment in Time	Space Lounge Deluxe Vol. 1

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AM CO-SCORES A MOVIE: Man Maid

www.amsounds.com — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:22:57 +0000

My first effort at scoring a movie will be seen on February 1, 2010. I co-scored the movie Man Maid with composer Tom Hiel and it is going to be released on Warner Bros. Let me know what you think of it.

Note from the director Chris Lusvardi:

On February 1st, “Man Maid” will be available for viewing via Warner Brothers Video on Demand and Pay per View. We’re not exactly sure how it’s going to work in various markets, but if you have Time Warner Cable, Direct TV, Comcast, or any other provider, it should be available. We appreciate your support and don’t be shy about spreading the word. Also, if it’s not listed in your area, it would be great if you called your provider and said “I want my “Man Maid”… or whatever variation on that sentiment that makes you comfortable. Thanks you so much and enjoy the movie!

Team Man Maid.
www.manmaidmovie.com

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Pre-sales: Future Sons & Daughters

www.amsounds.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:47:45 +0000

Future Sons & Daughters is currently available as a pre-sale. Official street date for my new album is out February 9th, 2010. Please make requests at your local record stores (the ones that are surviving). If you would like to help hang posters in your city to help promote the new album and upcoming tour dates with AIR, please email info@visionworksmusic.com.

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Clap

www.amsounds.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:30:03 +0000

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. ~Hans Hofmann Related posts:Clap “People who speak in metaphors should shampoo my crotch”. -Jack... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. Related posts:

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AM At Sundance Film Festival 2010

www.amsounds.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:05:52 +0000

Add me on Facebook so you can see the photos I took in the snow at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. www.facebook.com/amsounds . Make sure you have signed up for the mailing list to get your free monthly mp3.

Scott Iwasaki’s review from Sundance 2010:

http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/23/10008191/Blog-Sundance-Fest-digest-AM–the-ASCAP-Music-Cafe.html

So the end of this year’s Sundance Film Festival ultimately means the end of the ASCAP Music Cafe.

There were some great artists who performed this year – K.S. Rhoades, Brendan Benson, Sass Jordan, LeAnn Rimes and the Fray.

One of the coolest sets I’ve seen at the ASCAP was by New Orleans-raised singer/songwriter AM.

Not only is AM a performer, but he has also written film music. And while he didn’t attend Sundance last year, his music was featured in one of the films that made its premiere back then — Ashton Kutcher’s “Spread.”

He also c0-scored Chris Lusvardi’s “Man Maid,” with Tom Hiel which will be released February 1, on Warner Bros. Home Video.

On Friday, Jan. 30, AM, who now lives in Los Angeles, took the stage for the second day in a row. And, to the audience’s delight, treated them with some awesome tales of life and it’s ups and downs.

I caught up with AM after his last show, which wrapped up his first appearance at the Sundance Film Festival.

“It’s great,” AM said about his ASCAP Music Cafe experience. “All the music is diverse but equally as good. It’s casual, but professional. and (the producers) get behind musicians and artists.”

AM said not only did he make connections with audience members from around the world, but he also made some industry connections as well.

“I’ve met some great people and got to chat with a few directors,” he said. “I also met some great musicians and some great bands.

“This is the perfect marriage, music and film, these are my people,” he said.

The singer/songwriter said his Sundance gigs was one more opportunity that helps him live his dream.

“This is all I ever wanted to do — travel the world and play music for people,’ he said. “I’ve always wanted to make records and reach new people with the music.”

Looking forward, AM said he’s gearing up to go on tour with French electronic duo AIR for a tour in support of his new CD “Future Sons & Daughters,” which will be released Feb. 9.

“We’re going to stay on the road as long as we can and do some festivals and release the record out in the UK,” he said.

Upon returning home, if there isn’t another tour waiting, AM said he will write more music.

“When I’m not on the road, I’m writing songs for myself and writing music for films,” he said. “Los Angeles is full of amazing people to collaborate with.”

AM was the last show to see at the ASCAP Music Cafe this year, and I’m already looking forward to who will take the stage next year.

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House Of Fans

www.amsounds.com — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:22:00 +0000

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