Honey from the Tombs

Amy Millan

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 12, 2006)
• Original Release Date: July 11, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arts & Crafts
• ASIN: B000FIGZ1U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,228 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.ca

Honey From The Tombs may be Montreal artist Amy Millan's solo debut, but any Canadian indie rock aficionado will already have heard her voice on a number of recordings from Broken Social Scene and Stars. Knowing that, if edgy alt-rock is what you are seeking from this release, be prepared to look elsewhere; contrary to the gothic-looking cover, this is primarily a collection of bluegrass-affected music, though there are some wonderfully languid alt-country melodies to be found within these grooves.

The disc is divided into two basic sounds; the first is a straight-up yee-haw hoedown that comes too easily and leaves the memory just as quickly ("Blue in Yr Eye" "Ruby ll"). The second style, however, is where the CD truly shines; a Cat Power-meets-Mazzy-Star mash-up of tracks that are perfect to watch shooting stars by. "All The Miles" contains some stellar accompaniment to Millan's sweet voice, (largely performed by Ian Blurton of Blurtonia/Change of Heart fame) while "Wayward and Parliament" is equally breathy and beautiful. The one exception to the two-style pattern is "Headsfull," a Veruca Salt-esque number that shakes you awake, but frustratingly leaves you longing for more. All in all, an admirable first effort, but one which would raise up a notch from good to gorgeous if she followed more of her original ideas and spent less time performing predictable old-school country licks. --Denise Sheppard

Product Description

2006 solo debut from the vocalist for Indie Rock band Stars. Features appearances from a few of her Stars bandmates as well as members of Metric and Broken Social Scene. 12 tracks including 'Losin' You', 'Skinny Boy' and 'Come Home Loaded Roadie'. Arts & Crafts. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Come Home, October 5, 2006

By	DJ "Goldtone" (Lithonia, GA USA) - See all my reviews

I picked up the cd on a whim while buying the new Delerium cd, which is wierd because shes from Canada too. The album sits on the fence between modern day and old timey country/bluegrass and can easily be played anywhere, whether your sitting at home, drinking at a bar, or on long roadtrip. This is pretty wierd though because her vioce sounds like one more typically heard in new jazz/blues. I'd say she sounds like a combination of Hope Sandoval, Norah Jones, Dido, and Azure Ray all wrapped up into one.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Cd and Original, November 15, 2007

By	dman (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

I bought this CD because of that song 'Baby'. After getting the CD, I ended up liking the whole thing. The sound is original and authentic. This CD is like a hidden gem in a world flushed with a trillion CDs.

4.0 out of 5 stars A listenable, albeit different solo outing, June 30, 2007

By	Cloud "..." (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I have to be completely honest in that I think Amy Millan is probably one of my favorite female songwriters right now. Writing love songs without sounding generic or formulaic and a stunningly ethereal voice, she quickly became my favorite out of the "Broken Social Scene" trio which features Emily Haines (Metric) and Leslie Feist. So with a solo outing, does she continue on a Stars-sounding route? Well no since solo projects allow you to be different than your regular band and here we get straight up folk songwriting. Amy's voice is best backed by big epic arrangements and when stripped down, things still do come through although maybe not on the level Stars fans are used to.

The album starts out with many Amy's voice and an acoustic guitar on "Losin' You" and it's appropriate for what you'll hear. It's a nice song although very short and doesn't captivate so much as it entertains. One of the best tracks on the record is next as "Skinny Boy" has Amy almost doing a breathy kind of vocal in parts. My one complaint is that it sounds too "busy" as there's lots of tiny overdubs and such and it becomes almost cluttered. Another single, "Baby I" might sound too Grand Ole Opry-esque and it would've benefited on maybe a stronger beat but it's at least quite charming and a weird little sing along.

The record isn't completely quiet as a song like "Headsfull" is quite bluesy and rocking like something that might've been done from the 70's. It may not be catchy but at least it sounds fun. The album stumbles afterwards as "Hard Hearted" is kind of slow and almost boring to listen to while I can't get images of Hee Haw-watching, slack jawed yokels whenever I hear "Blue in Yr Eye". "Come Home Loaded Roadie" is quite the oddball as its main instrumentation is organs and Amy's voice. It probably won't stay in your head long but you like hearing it when it's on.

"Wayward and Parliament" is kind of compelling to listen to even though it's rather simplistic. With Amy's vocals, sporadic instrumentation, trumpets and a weird shift in tempo, it holds your attention even though you have no clue where it's going. "All the Miles" is probably one of my favorite tracks with its blues solo intro and great beat, it's one of the more enjoyable tracks. Just like the opener, the closer "Pour Me Up Another" is an acoustic track although this one's more gentle and intimate. It has that songwriter feel where it's not poppy but it's just really nice to listen to and I like the horn backing melody as well.

This is kind of a difficult record to listen to. Not that it's alienating and lacking melodies and hooks, but rather it's such a 180 from Stars that it's hard to adjust that voice with banjos. Pianos sure but slide dobros? Hm but in any case, Amy fans can find something to like here even though it's musically different than what you might hear from her but that don't make it a bad thing.