AMY MILLAN - Honey From The Tombs

The Broken Social Scene army takes the field. The Canadian combo, as we know, is a sonic orgy made up of at least fifteen people, multi-instrumentalists and four singers: Jason Collett, Leslie Feist, Emily Haines and Amy Millan.

The latter is probably the one with the most history and pop background, being a steady member not only of Broken Social Scene but also of Stars, and in the past of Sixteen Tons, and she is, after Feist, the second female voice of the group to try her hand at a solo album: "Honey From The Tombs".

Everything would suggest a record made on "autopilot", given the fellow travellers involved - Kevin Drew (BSS), Brendan Canning and Jimmy Shaw of the other "indie-poppers" Metric - a kind of space-pop with catchy melodies and sonic oddities inherited from her other full-time commitments listed above. Instead the record heads in a completely different direction, towards a search for intimacy, built on acoustic guitar and a clearly folk imprint, reviving the sounds (not the stories) of small-town America. "Not the stories" because Amy Millan leaves her pop background and her pop storytelling behind in the lyrics, dealing instead with struggles to fit into society, as in "Skinny Boy", or with relationships "gone wrong" as in "Losing You", or with love, above all in "Blue In Yr Eye" - both of the latter oddly upbeat despite their subject matter, but then again, that's country for you...

The basic lesson here, obviously, is that of the godfather Johnny Cash: fingerpicking or open chords with no frills, "He Brings Out The Whisky In Me" conjures up an image of her sitting in a saloon, a Blues Brothers-style scene, with a chicken-wire fence in front of the stage, cowboy hats and whistles.

Here and there some electronic patterns pop up (though not much), as in the very aptly titled "Skinny Boy", adding a touch of colour to the picture; but basically this is a record that flows along on simple notes, ballads and rare rhythmic surges, with Millan's voice which might come across as "plain" but, speaking personally, is a perfect voice for anything to do with the pop genre.

A crowd-pleasing record perhaps, especially for these times, but a thoroughly enjoyable one, flowing through uncomplicated songs that are extremely easy to get stuck in your head - "Baby I" and "Ruby II" are earworms, and once you start singing them, I promise you, there's no stopping.

Sure, going country might not seem like the smartest move, but our artist works with "other" kinds of music every single day, and I think she can be granted a variation on the theme without too much scrutiny over her intentions, especially when it's done as well and as delicately as it is here.

All in all, the experiment works more than well, and it recalls - with all due proportions - the detour Springsteen took after "The River" with "Nebraska": after albums full of eclecticism, frills and melodic excess, the Canadian singer tackles pop her own way too, armed with just a guitar. And she may well be right in thinking that not much more is needed.

Amy Millan makes you long for America: her songs are melancholy, road-ready, suited to moments when all you can do is leave almost everything behind and drive, maybe in a convertible. The bright side of the country, one might say, paraphrasing Pink Floyd.

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02/11/2006