New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Sam Amidon's new album of reimagined folk songs, Lily-O, was released last week to critical acclaim, earning four stars from the Independent and the Guardian, which calls it "subtle and intriguing," and with Esquire UK calling it "magical" and MusicOMH "gorgeous." Now, in a new review from the New York Times, music critic Nate Chinen adds his praise, describing Lily-O as "a hauntingly beautiful new album."
Lily-O was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson and features the innovative jazz guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, along with Amidon's other frequent collaborators, bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Chris Vatalaro.
Chinen cites their take on Rosa Lee Watson's "Your Lone Journey" as the song that "brings out the album's most moving performance. Mr. Amidon sings in a muted voice, trusting the lyrics to make their own impression. The song arrives near the album's close, so its heavenward glance doubles as a seamless transition."
Read the complete review at
nytimes.com.
Ireland's RTÉ gives Lily-O a perfect five stars. "A refreshing, inventive dynamic is at play, with a ragged glory to the arrangements, given the presence of the immensely gifted guitarist, Bill Frisell," says reviewer Paddy Kehoe. "Bill puts his slightly distorted electric guitar into all the right places, a refreshing counterpoint to the integrity of the acoustic instruments. In sum, Lily-O is a very fine album indeed."
Songlines gives the album four stars, calling Amidon "an almost unfailingly engaging storyteller," noting that Frisell's contributions "confirm Amidon's passion for beautiful sounds and variety, which also comes out in his remarkably varied songwriting."
In another recent review, Diffuser.fm's Chuck Armstrong writes: "Lily-O is a hard album to describe; on the surface, fans get gorgeous folk, bluegrass and Americana arrangements—but the true meaning of the music lies much deeper. It's found in the complex bedrock created by the band, with Amidon firmly at the helm."
To pick up a copy of Lily-O, head toiTunes and the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl (the latter due October 28) orders include an instant download of the album track "Walkin' Boss" and a download of the complete album available starting release day.
Sam Amidon kicks off a fall tour in Seattle this Saturday, October 11. The tour includes a number of shows with Frisell and Ismaily. See below for all of the currently scheduled dates.
SAM AMIDON ON TOUR
Oct 11 Ballard Homestead Seattle, WA
Oct 13 Great American
Music Hall* San Francisco, CA
Oct 14 Largo at the Coronet Los Angeles, CA
Oct 16 Wolf Trap* Vienna, VA
Oct 17 FringeArts* Philadelphia, PA
Oct 18 Music Hall of Williamsburg* Brooklyn, NY
Oct 20 The Parlor Room Northampton, MA
Oct 22 New England Youth Theater Brattleboro, VT
Oct 23 Higher Ground South Burlington, VT
Oct 25 Club Passim Cambridge, MA
Nov 14 Whelans Dublin, IRELAND
Nov 16 EFG London Jazz Festival, Barbican Hall* London,UK
Nov 17 Paradiso Tolhuistuin Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Nov 18 Ancienne Belgique Brussels, BELGIUM
Nov 19 Kleiner Donner Hamburg, GERMANY
Nov 20 Monarch Berlin, GERMANY
Nov 21 Franz Mehlhose Erfurt, GERMANY
Nov 22 Sparte 4 Saarbrücken, GERMANY
Nov 23 Studio 672 Cologne, GERMANY
Nov 24 El Lokal Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Nov 25 Basel at Parterre Basel, SWITZERLAND
Nov 26 Antigua Fàbrica Damm Barcelona, SPAIN
Nov 27 La Lata de Bombillas Zaragoza, SPAIN
Nov 28 Garoa Kultur Lab San Sebastian, SPAIN
Nov 30 Badaboum Paris, FRANCE.
