Amanda Mair

For me, Amanda Mair was easily one of 2012's best albums, and Amanda herself is one of the most exciting prospects around musically.

Whilst she didn't actually write any of the songs herself, listening to them it's obvious she has a brilliant emotional connection to the words she's singing. The nostalgia she carries in her voice is especially intriguing when you consider just how young she is, and combined with the clarity of her tone, it's just hypnotic. Major props have to go to the album's producers who've created a particularly intricate and lush soundscape here, there's just the right level of instrumentation to keep the songs fresh, it's the kind of album you notice something new every time you play it, but the true star here is Amanda, who's definitely deserving of all the comparisons she's receiving.

Without doubt, there's a similarity between the album's songs - it's mostly mid-tempo, brilliantly written pop, but every song has it's own character and identity. Sense, in my opinion, was THE best single of 2012 - it's simplicity is brilliant and it's the album's most playful, upbeat and pop-like moment. Skinnarviksberget, the song that follows it is the album's quietest moment and an extremely adult and thoughtful ballad. Songs like House, Before and Doubt all hold that same kind of radio-friendly appeal where you can mindlessly hum along, but at the same time contain a lot more depth and emotion under the surface. At just ten tracks long, there's literally no filler here, the standard never drops at any point during the album's run.

I know some people feel a bit disappointed when they realise Amanda didn't write the record herself, but as far as artist/muse relationships go, the balance here is just perfect and it's a brilliant album regardless. I literally cannot praise it enough.

For a young artist this is a great start, I collect unusual music ,music that doesn't
have edges or boundaries.This nice quirky little record will be added to my list very soon I have listened to most of the tracks on Youtube and find them interesting ,full of colour and pretty notes of nostalgia . I hope this review is helpful ,enjoy ,Tempy:)

I've always believed original music should make you sit up and take notice of it. It should excite you, make you feel something, occasionally even make you angry. What it shouldn't do is make you sleepy...unless that is what you are looking for. I'm sure Amanda Mair is a wonderful person who really believes in her music. I just don't happen to think it's anything interesting or exciting. It's all very pleasant...but is that all there is? There are thousands of similar artists like this. They all sing smooth pop songs in a bland and repetitious way without any hint of real emotion. They all look like barbie doll models picked out of a fashion show. What they don't do is make any sort of impact. It's a sad state of popular music now when every artist wants to be just as boring as the rest. Pop music is at it's absolute nadir at the moment. It's disposible! It's for short attention spans. It has no lasting value at all. Songs will only last a few months in a teenagers ipod before it is dismissed and erased with the next bland dancing barbie. What utter crap! Maybe music should be held to a higher value than this. Hopefully music that means something will make a comeback in popular culture...but I won't hold my breath.