Suppose you possessed the poetry of Nature. What would she be saying ? What would you say to her? We might wonder this, as mere mortals. Amy Hopwood goes into the heart of the verdant thickets. Her latest album is an allegory and analogy, a conversation and a dissertation-of the woods. Of nature and her behaviour. This is Into the Woods.
Brambles acts not only as an introduction-but the kind of music Amy Hopwood creates. Using powerful imagery, she sits in as translator to a complicated human-and its counterpart in nature. Her guitar work is simple, the melodies have clear lines. The harmonies add the magic dust for the chorus. Herein, she allows nature’s beauty to be understood.
Amy Hopwood doesn’t just love nature, she has chosen to have an obsession with it. This is visible in her next track, Where the Wild Bees Go. As humming impersonates the bees, her lyrics are clearly a detailed faction of work. Patterns of growth and decay have been studied before writing and singing about it. This is inspired songwriting at its best.
Where the trees speak
Whether it be interesting facts or Tolkien inspired verses in the woods, Amy focuses on spiritually completing a track. Three Impossible Tasks is a fable, a tale to spark provocative thought. The Oak and the Ash continue this saga making process that Amy Hopwood really invests her time in. Her attention to detail is immaculate-and the result is nothing short of wizardry.
What Wasn’t There shows a person gaping into a void. Staring into a pit, while not realizing the water it holds. The irreparable and often unrealized act of bringing a pessimist view to life. Amy has a simple companion in her guitar, she doesn’t overlay this music with disturbing frills. Hers is a unique storytelling process, and the guitar notes boil down to be the embellishments around words. Kintsugi embraces the intriguing art form of beautifying your flaws. The broken vessel is repaired, keeping in mind-it’s flaws are visible. There is beauty in “ugliness”. Using harmonics and choice words, Amy explains, in some ways, the advantage of this perspective.
Speaking of perspectives, Amy switches to a smaller one. The Woodpecker’s Song is a love letter from the bird to the tree. A place she feels she belongs to. The song appropriately has a slightly quicker tempo, and revels in the acoustic mastery that Amy Hopwood creates. Astrid and the Wolf sees Amy take the role of Aesop, an observer, and fly on a tree approach to her audio designed visuals. A rich and captivating moment in rhyme.
Conversation with the melody
The Liar and the Tailor employs more elements of playful intrigue and curiosity, With each song, Amy hopes to create a new chapter in a storybook, and her melodies allow them to have a travelling medium. Best Served Cold could be assumed to be about the trait of revenge. If this artist is a director and cinematographer as well-rest assured she’s getting the frames she desires. No line is wasted, hence no effort is.
Nearing the end of the album, Amy sings Happily Ever After. Like a Broadway musical-it has various textures and emotions. Poured into a nourishing stew, this song is for those looking to smile. The progression and harmonies are conducive to you really enjoying the nature of things. Ironically or unironically, that is the aim of her album. Closing with The Seeds of Love, Amy tries something new. The natural ambience is her background, she sings with the chirping birds as her accompaniment. Only hearing this one will tell you what a miracle artist you’re listening to.
Amy isn’t changing the tides in music. She is using all her experiences, her love for the metaphysical-in her tracks. That is what makes these songs so good, the honesty involved is real. Whether it took her a day to write a song or 3 months remains immaterial. These songs come from a timeless place, and we hope to see them thereafter. Happily ever after.
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
