Customer Reviews

Anchors & Anvils (Dig)

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Buy this album and fall in love with Amy Lavere. In recent years almost every emerging female vocalist who can write, compose, and manage to maintain artist integrity is immediately compared to Norah Jones. Most often, this turns out to be nothing more than a compliment to the artist who almost hit the mark; however, Amy Lavere has blown everyone else out the water with this album. Just like Norah Jones did several years, Amy Lavere has taken a genre of music and made it her own in Anchors and Anvils. Instead of drifting beside you in the glow of love as Jones does so well, Lavere pulls a stool up next to you, buys you a shot of something strong and tells you her story. Her sound is phenomenal. Her musical talents are as brazen and sexy as her evocative lyrics. She is jazz, country, and blues all rolled into one very talented musician and writer. This is the album that you've been waiting to hear. She is one to watch.

Amy Lavere's second CD is just as good as her first, and may show a bit more range in her song choice. The gypsy violin is superb and prominent on many of these country-rock-cabaret-jazz-songs. Amy sings and plays a stand up bass.

Lavere has a little-girl, ingenue voice that sounds oh-so-vulnerable, but with a touch of cynicism and humor. "Killing Him" has a hard driving rhythm line. I heard it on NPR and it first attracted me to Lavere. "Tennessee Valentine" has echoes of "Tennessee Waltz." The lyrics are great on all the songs: "Sitting in the dark at night, listening to the washing machine, wishing she could leave, but she had so many loads to clean." I wish they had printed the lyrics.

"Cupid's Arrow" is the funniest, edgy-ist song on the CD: "Like a sniper with a rocket...you gotta learn to shoot first if you aim to kill." Lavere is a bit dark, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and always original.

Smallchief

I'm enjoying this album. How many people sing while playing stand-up bass? How many women play stand-up bass at all? Here is all of the above which is kind of neat, and LaVere also writes to boot.

I can see the comparisons to Nora Jones, but she also reminds me of Lucinda Williams, and other times like the female vocalist who was (is?) in the Squirrel Nut Zippers. However, she really sounds like none of them, they're just elements one can pick out. She's more entertaining and less torchy than Nora and less country than Lucinda. Or you can just listen to the samples and decide for yourself.

Her bass playing is not virtuosic but it's solid and supportive of the rest of the band which often cooks. It's not a mere gimmick.

I also like her writing. Five of the cuts are LaVere originals. No one would compare her with Joni or Ani here, but the songs are catchy and hooky. I especially like the first cut, "Killing Him," which is the story of a domestic murder with the tag line "Killing him didn't make the love go away."

So I was thinking to myself this morning, that I really needed to learn an instrument like guitar or piano, to accompany my singing... and that made me wonder... how come it's always guitar or piano that people play? Why not drums or harp or something else? Well I went to Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville tonight and did see something else! I ended up seeing one of the coolest funkiest shows I've ever seen. Amy LaVere is this firecracker of a woman who sings and plays an upright base. She's this tiny person dancing and throwing around this huge instrument. She has a voice somewhere between Jewel and Amy Winehouse when she sings and a bit like Karen Walker from Will & Grace when she's entertaining the crowd. The guitarist played solos that brought their audience to the edge of their seats.

Her lyrics usually have an intelligent wryness about them. Check out the songs "Pointless Drinking" and "Take 'em or Leave 'em". The sound is varied around a bluesy root... ranging from country, to jazz to punk. Sometimes you even hear a little Billie Holiday in her voice, especially on some of the slower jazzier numbers.

The album doesn't quite capture the dynamics of her amazing live performance but is a gem. I haven't hit the road without it in my shuffle since the concert. Highly recommended for jazz and indie fans with a taste for something unique.

That is the best word to describe this follow-up effort from this, regrettably, virtually unknown artist. There are hints of Norah Jones, Martha Wainwright, Jolie Holland, & even Mazzy Star here 'n' there. Yet Amy definitely has a sound & style all her own.
I recommend all the selections on this album. Her interpretations are such that you forget the original versions, but it is her own compositions I admire most. (I still cannot get enough of `Cupid's Arrow'!!!)
My only gripe is its shortness. It leaves you wanting more & more of what you just heard. So the best solution is to simply play it again! Or put on her other album!
The arrangements are perfect (well-known & respected Jim Dickinson this time `round). And it is not that Amy has the most powerful or amazing voice. Not at all. She is a singer who is clearly aware of her strengths & her weaknesses, & therefore sings in such a fashion that it puts you in some sort of...heaven. Honestly!
I discovered Amy LaVere (as I do with many artists) from, of all places, the Ben Stiller/Farelly Bros movie Heartbreak Kid ("Take 'Em or Leave 'Em").
On top of all that she's a beautiful specimen of a woman & plays the upright-bass on everything to boot!
Check her out AND her amazing debut "This World Is Not My Home" which is equally as good (yet as short as well).

I too heard about Amy LaVere via the NPR story, and when I found out she was playing during a weekend when I had planned to be in Memphis, I had to go see her. She played a middle set leading up to the North Mississippi All-Stars. It wasn't a great night for her--the sound wasn't right, she didn't have a full band, she just did a few songs and got off the stage--but a little left you wanting more. Even on a bad night, she's fantastic. Others have already written about the emotional depth and musical breadth of her work, but if you listen closely, there are lots of little surprises--from lyrics like "Killing him didn't make the love go away," and "Time is a train/It don't heal a thing/It just takes you farther away/And longer to get to sleep" to a country blues take on Carla Thomas's "That Beat" that includes, I kid you not, a Klezmer violin riff. She's celebrating the irony that makes life worth living. This record makes life worth living, and you've gotta have it.

I had the luck of seeing Amy open for Kelly Willis this past week. Though I had never heard of her, I knew in the first song that I was buying her CD at the Merch table. Awesome voice and the right amount of swagger to make you want to support her and pull for her. Tn Valentine, Pointless Drinking, and her cover of "I'll remember you" are all well done. To top it off, one of the most classically beautiful women you will ever see!

I first heard Amy LaVere on the local radio station (WMNF). I was immediately drawn to both her music and singing. Then I listened to her lyrics. She is brilliant combination of talents. Of course, I had to get her first CD after one listen to this one. Both are great. The only thing is I can't get "Cupid's Arrow" out of my head! (not a complaint!). I also like the fact she plays stand-up bass. I can't wait to see where she's headed next.

I first heard Amy LeVere on NPR's "Fresh Air" and was intrigued with her unique voice. It echoes those of Betty-Boop-esque women in old time recordings - sultry and innocent, grown up but childish. I bought both of her albums on Amazon (the only place I could find them) and love them. "Anchors and Anvils" is one of those records I have a hard time pulling out of my stereo. The hypnotic first track "Killing Him", with it's catchy, repetitive chorus, sets the mood for experiencing the rest of the recording. Just try to keep from gyrating while listening to "That Beat". I find it almost impossible. And with "Pointless Drinking" and the adorable "Cupid's Arrow" her range of communicating emotions with her delicate voice can tempt the listener into depression or an unknowing smile, and sometimes both at the same time. "Time Is a Train" is the only track I have difficulty getting into, but following it with Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You" ironically makes me quickly forget. It's official. I am an Amy LeVere fan.

Probably not the best comparison, but that's how it strikes me. I also heard the review on NPR and ordered it the same day. Feels like Cowboy Junkies at times, and she has the babydoll voice of Shivaree (the song "Goodnight Moon" from "Kill Bill"). Amy Lavere is going places!