Amanda Shires continues her flight into the mainstream.
Following on from her adventurous 2022 album, “Take It Like A Man”, Amanda Shires continues to voyage well beyond her humble beginnings as a talented roots-based singer, writer and fiddler on her latest outing, “Nobody’s Girl”. As on the previous album, there’s little here which is roots-based; instead, Shires offers a set of songs which are, in turn, polished ballads and somewhat overwhelming statements. Produced again by Lawrence Rothman, “Nobody’s Girl” strains towards mainstream acceptance with the radio-friendly lash of ‘Strange Dreams’, the primary evidence.
There is of course a prurient interest in the album. It’s Shire’s first outing since the dissolution of her marriage to Jason Isbell and she has stoked the interest with quotes such as “’Nobody’s Girl’ is what came after the wreckage, the silence, the rebuilding. It’s about standing in the aftermath of a life you thought would last forever and realising no one is coming to save you.” However, as break-up albums go, it’s unlikely that it will come to be reckoned as a classic of the genre, as, no matter how naked she sounds lyrically, there’s little emotional heft in the delivery. After an ambient instrumental introduction she segues into ‘A Way It Goes’ which is the most open song here regarding the aftermath of her marriage. Lyrics such as “I could show you how he left me, paint a picture of growing flowers for nobody, but I’d rather you see me thriving” and “Spent a year looking inward and healing, made some new friends, don’t ask about the deep end. Even I couldn’t believe it when I felt my heart sprouting feathers and I caught myself dreaming again” speak, yes, of heartbreak and also to a rebirth of sorts, but the song just limps along, never catching fire. ‘Piece Of Mind’ is more fiery, the opening words, “If you think I could ever hate you, you’re wrong but that was a real fucked up way to leave” quite vitriolic but they’re allied to a fairly lumpen slice of rock’n’roll.
And that’s the main issue with this album. There are layers of guitars, strings and things and keyboards galore while Shire’s fiddle gets the occasional outing but it’s all pretty much anaemic, never striking a nerve. ‘Lose It For A While’ starts off promisingly as Shires sings quite wonderfully over a delicate acoustic backing but towards the end it descends into a preposterous, almost prog rock coda. And while ‘Streetlights And Stars’ finds Shires relating a fine neon-dashed noirish tale, its follow-up, the Warren Zevon-like ‘Lately’, is let down by an overblown guitar solo along with its opening couplet as she sings, “How am I doing, I Don’t know, just here listening to Billy Joel.” Mac-like is the unabashed attempt to deliver a Fleetwood Mac-like radio hit on ‘Strange Dreams’ while ‘Friend Zone’, despite its synthetic strings, finds Shire well able to wallow in a Tom Waits-like reverie.
Overall, “Nobody’s Girl” finds Shires stretching out but the album might be a bit too polished for those who prefer her earlier catalogue.
