Well-written balladry and a voice to blissfully savor
Words are funny things, aren’t they? Symbolic representations of concepts and ideas, they allow us to communicate with one another in ways more nuanced than grunting and pointing. They are, to a huge degree, the secret of our species’ success.
The ability to share ideas, to refine and perfect them, store them, preserve them for future generations to build upon—language, more than anything else I know, is at the heart of what it means to be human.
But words are funny things, because over time they can take on new meanings, often having little to do with their original point or purpose, occasionally coming to mean the opposite of what they meant. Sometimes the two definitions exist simultaneously.
Take “peruse”. Does it mean to read carefully and thoughtfully, or does it mean to skim over, to lightly glance at? Well, it means both, rendering it, to my way of thinking, a useless word now, best forgotten.
Quick, what does “diva” mean? Rather, what does it mean to you? In common usage it has come to refer to an insufferable egomaniac, a person of unnatural self-importance, but that’s not what it actually meant (or still means, in the right circles). Definitively, a diva is an exceptionally talented, successful, admired female singer or actress.
So when I say that Amber Fults is a genuine diva, know that it is in the original sense, not the vernacular. In fact, to be so talented, Amber is remarkably and refreshingly humble and down to Earth. It’s only one of her many endearing qualities.
To hear what I mean, one need look no further than her new EP, Fire Burning. My only complaint about the collection of five songs is that there are only five songs. Soulful and sweet, the arc of the compilation isn’t readily definable, at least not precisely so. Pop music? Sure, but what does that mean? In this context it means there is a universal appeal to the performances that all but guarantees widespread appeal and popularity. It isn’t confined to a single niche, which is a bold move.
There is a tradeoff, you see. To play a niche is to improve your odds of appealing to that audience at the expense of broader audiences so you’d better hope your audience is big enough to support you. On the other hand, trying to appeal to a general audience makes you a fish in a much bigger pond. You potentially have a much large base, but capturing and holding their attention is going take a lot more work and talent and the odds are much slimmer.
Amber need not worry about the odds. Her voice is an instrument and her ability to wield that instrument is second to none. If she sang in a foreign language, if she sang gibberish, hell, if she just made SOUNDS, she has the rare ability to convey all the pure emotion that ten thousand words from another person would struggle to express. Joy, longing, sorrow, hope, passion, it’s all there as clear as if it were written in 20-foot-high flaming letters. That the songs themselves are well-written is just icing on the cake for this phenomenal songstress.
While the EP may be genre-neutral, each tune does have a certain flavor. “I Would Rather” has all the makings of a smash country hit, though it would be a crossover hit. “Burn” has sultry, sexy, blues overtones, but if you don’t care for blues, no worries, you’re going to love this tune anyway. The eponymous “Fire Burning” could be, well, almost anything. With a little twang, it’s country, raw up the instruments and it’s blues. It could easily garner airplay on any alt station worth its salt. Ironically, my personal favorite, “Ghost of You”, is the song I have the least to say about, not because there’s nothing to say but because it resonates with me to point of leaving me a bit in awe. It simultaneously drips with pain AND comfort. Remarkable.
It’s pointless, in fact, to get hung up on genre. The fact is this music is Amber Fults, period, and if you relax and take it all in you will hear a fluidity of style for which I have no comparison. It isn’t a “demo” in which the singer tackles five distinctly different tunes to prove her ability. No, this is Amber being Amber, and in doing so she captures the heart and soul of a hundred years or more of Western music.
I was a fan of Amber the first time I heard her, but it’s been a few years and I am overjoyed to hear how such a natural talent has matured and blossomed in to a…well…a diva, in every good, positive, original sense of the word.
This lady is going places.
The EP is Fire Burning, available on Spotify now. Give it a listen; you’ll be glad you did