Folk/Review The Amanda Emblem Experiment - The Wood
Amanda Emblem is a singer, songwriter, and performer from Upper Kandanga in Queensland. Her career spans over 20 years, during which time she has performed all over the world with the world’s greatest rock and blues artists, including Kiss, Aerosmith, and Robert Cray. Amanda’s songs have won international awards, been featured on the TV series Neighbours, and continue to get regular international airplay.
Singer-songwriter Amanda Emblem's album “The Wood,” released under the name The Amanda Emblem Experiment, is a masterfully meditative and immersive piece of art. The record is layered, organic, and full of changing moods that allow the listener to slow down and think. It feels like a walk through a sonic forest, as suggested by the title, which is taken from one of the highlight tracks.
“The Wood's” core is modern folk, with acoustic guitar fingerpicking as its foundation and subtle slide guitar, harmonica, and flute embellishments. With her warm, clear vocals that are never overdone, Amanda strikes a balance between intimacy and atmosphere, allowing the story to take center stage. The songs represent the duality of light and shadow that exist in both the woods and the human spirit, alternating between lively, enjoyable times and more enigmatic, even eerie, tones.
The album's lyrics focus on themes of introspection, remembrance, and emotional reality. Amanda's talent is in delivering stories that are both intensely personal and broadly relevant. Her words evoke strong images and provide ample room for the listener's own interpretation, whether they are evoking a scene of whimsical play or delving into more somber, traditional folklore.
Amanda's voice and the unadulterated beauty of the instruments bear the weight of each song, while the production stays genuine and unassuming. The end effect is a timeless, hospitable, and evocative listening experience.
Amanda Emblem creates a folk experience with “The Wood” that is both innovative and reassuring; it's a subtly potent album that begs for repeated listening.