The songs on this new 2 disc collection were issued as singles at the rate of two per month from the Autumn of 2020. That might make for a disjointed album of related songs that don’t sit well together as an album. This couldn’t be further from the case.
Platt says that they were released “in pairs that reflected the two sides of the titular dualism. I’ve always liked that saying. For me, the two groupings of songs represent different sides of the creative process.” And there is indeed a very definite difference between ‘The Devil’ and ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ discs. With the former being more electric and upbeat, although I’m not sure about Patt’s description of it as “manic, maybe even grotesque at times”. Opening song ‘New York’ is one of the most immediate songs here, and after a few weeks living with the album still one of my favourites. A Laurel Canyon flavoured pop song, that and the next song “Burn” are not as close to the Country end of Americana as the rest of this album. The other highlights are the piano led ‘Girl’s Like You’ and ‘Perfect Word’.
‘The Deep Blue Sea’ is a more reflective set, at times reminding you of neil Young’s more reflective work. ‘Rabbit’ is the first standout song here, although again the high quality of writing that flows across both discs makes picking out favourites hard. The almost hymn like feel of ‘Lessons In Gravity’ marks this out as another highlight. The Honeycutters backing of Platt’s soulful vocal delivery is considered and in Matt Smith they have a guitarist who can produce uptempo electric solos on ‘New York’ and ‘Perfect Word and make his Pedal Steel work one of the key voices on ‘The Deep Blue Sea’, notably on ‘Only Just To Smile’. Overall the playing matches the quality of the songs without ever dominating them. Platt and Co-Producer Evan Martin, who also contributes some fine harmonies, and sympathetic drums throughout, have done a fine job making the songs that she says were occasionally rushed through to release sound as if they were recorded over an afternoon.
Platt says: “As we carried on with releasing two tracks from the project each month, more than once it seemed like a song would take on a new poignancy as life unfolded at the same time”. This makes the thematic and musical unity of the album quite remarkable and speaks volumes for the consistency of Platt’s writing. Across 20 songs released over nearly a year they work so well as an album with no outliers in quality, sound of feel. I do feel that repeating how hard selecting end of year choices will be is getting boring, but Amanda Anne Platt has added another complication to the task by delivering an album about which her last word is: “As an artist I’ve spent a long time judging myself when I’m at either extreme, so it’s nice to have an opportunity to celebrate the balance they provide one another. As a good friend of mine put it, ‘Sometimes you’re drowning in The Deep Blue Sea and you need The Devil to pull you out.”
You can buy A CD from Amazon in the UK, or stream it at the usual places. Their website is here, and if they haven’t already they should make a poster of the album cover which deserves to be seen in a size larger than 5CM x 5cm
