REVIEW: Amanda Green, The Nineteen Hundreds (Y&T Music) /
Lauren Hoffman, From the Blue House (Free Union)
- Jon Steltenpohl
There was a time, back in the early 90's, when girls were going to take over the world. Juliana Hatfield, Kristen Hersh, Tanya Donnelly and Kim Deal were ready to bring gritty girl pop back from where the Bangles, the Go-Go's, and Blondie left it. Unfortunately, that movement withered into the rather tepid pop stardom of Paula Cole and Jewel.
Well, Amanda Green and Lauren Hoffman have both popped up on indie releases to capture some of the spirit that Hatfield and the Breeders had while still fitting into today's current pop mold. Both artists have a little bit of folk, a little bit of grunge, and a whole lot of fun music on their discs.
Green's The Nineteen Hundreds is a collection of 19 eclectic tracks that range from "Silver Dollar" with Police styled guitar to an interesting cover of Devo's "Gut Feeling/Slap your Mammy". She can be mellow as on the piano driven "Me and My Wife". At times, she evokes the Sheryl Crow style of two step country beat married to a decidely pop sound. The guitar on "Secret Song" is downright reminiscent of the Eagles, but one track later, "Jericho" dirty guitar and slacker sound would fit in just right on a Juliana Hatfield album.
Hoffman is a bit more sparse than Green. She fits the acoustic mold, and From the Blue House is a nice, low key album. Some tracks are lazy and loopy like the opening track titled "Heavy Scene" and the sweet "Sugarpie". At times, Hoffman's music reminds you of Victoria Williams. While no one has a voice quiet like Williams', the airy, reserved style Hoffman exudes is similar. With the exception of a trumpet on one track, Hoffman's accompaniment usually goes no further than herself on guitar and an occasional bass player and drummer. Hoffman's melodies are similar to Tanya Donnelly in their singalong quality, but more like Kristen Hersh in their quiet intensity. "Magic Stick" has a nice little crunchy guitar to go along with its catchy chorus, but the best song is a dusky, whispered tribute to another singer called "Look Like Shit".
There isn't a single, radio-ready track on either The Nineteen Hundreds or From the Blue House that will launch these albums into the national spotlight. But, both are great little releases on indie labels that are worth checking out. If your record collection is littered with various alternative girls from the past decade, either Amanda Green or Lauren Hoffman would fit right in.
(You can find more information on these artists at http://www.amandagreen.com and http://www.forlauren.com )
