It’s been less than a year since we last heard from Amanda Jo Williams and her curiously abstract folk album The Bear Eats Me. Deftly sidestepping any easy categorization, whether it be freak folk or Americana, William’s acoustic ruminations are anything but simple and fall somewhere between the religious sacraments of The Louvin Brothers and the hellfire and brimstone rock of 16 Horsepower–though there is a sly dark humor that seems to radiate outward from within her songs. Coming later this Spring, we’ll have our next taste of Williams’ own unique brand of folk-affiliated narratives, as she is set to release her latest record You Are the Father of My Songs on May 21st via Neurotic Yell Records.
Our first taste of that upcoming record takes the form of the spirited call-to-arms sermon of “2000Hell”, where she warns that “you know it’s the right road but you know it’s a hard road” and wonders if you can “feel the heat from hell.” The quivering guitar notes feel pulled from some Morricone b-side, and the rumbling acoustic and brass interplay displays a matured sense of rhythmic construction that few artists could match. Her airy, high pitched vocals lend the whole preceding a sense of musical naivete, similar to Joanna Newsom–but you would be remiss if you thought her anything less than determinedly serious.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the latest track “2000Hell” from Amanda Jo Williams off her upcoming album You Are the Father of My Songs.
