Around the same time Lana Del Rey bombed on SNL and was promptly crushed under the full weight of the hype machine, Stockholm’s Labrador Records quietly released a trio of free singles and the debut album by 17-year-old Amanda Mair.

Outside of a few enthusiastic blogs and a blurb in Entertainment Weekly, I haven’t read much about the lovely Ms. Mair (now 18), so I will do my best to add fuel to the fire here in the States. Her self-titled release is a lock to be my favorite album of the year; I’ve had it on steady rotation since early February (the US edition was released in May).

As I noted in my track-by-track Amazon review, the comparisons to Kate Bush are way off. Her lush yet robust voice and the heartbreakingly beautiful production by Philip EkstrÁ¶m of The Mary Onettes unite to create a textured, layered, joyous masterpiece.
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Amanda Mair is on sale this month at Amazon.

 

Music, Popdose Premieres

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About the Author

Keith Creighton

Keith is a music correspondent for Popdose and an advocate on women's empowerment, gender identity, and gender liberation issues. He is a monthly new-music contributor to the Planet LP Podcast and is a marketing writer by day for Sudden Monkey.

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