AMANDA SHIRES

West Cross Timbers

2009-11-06

Amanda Shires is a fiddle-and-guitar-playing young woman from Lubbock who cut her teeth playing on the side for the legendary western swing band the Texas Playboys at the age of 16. This is her first real solo outing and it is drawing praise from musicians such as Chris Isaak, Justin Townes Earle and Slaid Cleves -- as well as innumerable marriage offers from the (in)famous singer/humorist Kinky Friedman. The opening songs starts with her asserting, "I hope I haunt you good," and even though that tune is not representative of the entire set, Amanda's higher-register delivery and fondness for traditional folk storytelling grow on you. The dark "I Kept watch Like the Doves" and the outstanding "Mineral Wells" show a special talent. I hope she gets her chance to build a national audience; there's a lot more here than we can take in from these 11 songs. 11/09 Michael J. F-Americana

Quick Links:

More reviews tagged #Folk

  • reviewed 08/2007

    TEDDY THOMPSON
    Upfront & Down Low

  • reviewed 05/2007

    THE SILOS
    Come On Like the Fast Lane

  • reviewed 01/2006

    CAT POWER
    The Greatest

  • reviewed 03/2008

    JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
    The Good Life

  • reviewed 02/2017

    Bap Kennedy
    Reckless Heart

  • reviewed 05/2011

    MATT THE ELECTRICIAN
    Accidental Thief

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.