Bill Mallonee
Amber Waves
Independent 2012
Bill Mallonee has returned with a new full on studio release for this year! I think this is actually maybe his 3rd release over all this year, but this is the full studio/backing band and fan funded project. Bill continues to improve and surprise with every release from my point of view. Not one to sit around too long, he is constantly touring, writing and bringing his tunes to the people and putting the miles on the road.
What was really fun about this release is that I basically ignored almost every social media clip and unfinished track update, and I waited for the full on released product so that I could enjoy it like the days years back where the physical disc is inserted, the lyric insert is poured over while the tunes come banging through my headphones. Fans of Mallonee will dig in and enjoy this release as expected, but so should the fans that clamor and cry about missing that VoL sound. Not only is this all VoL members including Jake Bradley and Kevin Heuer, but tracks like To the Nines sound like around the bend relatives to the Slow Dark Train era. The guitar licks and ambience that spills out with One Kiss at a Time and Faith (Comes Soaked in Gasoline) feels like Summershine era brilliance. The Moog synth Bill uses on One Kiss at a Time was so awesome and amazing that it gave me a profound love for that track in particular. Mallonee has never been one confined to genre specific traps, and the use of the Moog is new ground that has been traveled and done exceptionally well!
The beautiful thing about Bill’s music is his unrivaled ability to capture the stark and empty feelings of isolation, the ache and echo of hopelessness, and the sting of desolation. Yet through the trial he paints triumph, through the grief he finds the flickers of hope, and through the tragedy he finds and reminds us of the reality behind the world that confronts us.
This release is number 50 for Bill, and he has endured with a weathered honesty and a poetic outlook on the American life, the introspection of the soul and the inspiration of relationship and love. This is a “must have” for all Mallonee fans present and past.
For Bill’s personal take on this release and other musings, visit this link directly:
http://billmalloneemusic.bandcamp.com/album/amber-waves
