A year on from the wonderful Down Wires, Anthony D’Amato returns with a new collection Paper Back Bones. Much like its predecessor, the record is filled with images of America and you find yourself channelling your inner Bob Dylan as you listen to a collection of sun-kissed melodies which would not sound out of place on a modern-day record by the great Mr Zimmerman.
It is hard to believe that D’Amato is still only in his early 20s, as his music possesses such a maturity about it. The young New Yorker has a wonderful ability of crafting songs that could have been made by someone 30 years older than himself, while still retaining a youthful energy you’d expect from a man his age. Songs like ‘Arrowhead’ and ‘Songbirds’ encompass his formula of creating rustic, yet fresh music which imprints itself on the mind. What is so refreshing about this album is how easy it is to listen to and how easy it is to become enchanted by D’Amato’s words.
When it comes to a fourth album, artists have so often become over- indulgent and thus losing some of their spark and charm. There is no danger of this happening with Anthony D’Amato. Paper Back Bones retains all the subtleness and allure of his previous efforts but takes them to the next level with a mixture of cute, upbeat numbers (see the opener ‘But For You’) and devastatingly beautiful love songs like ‘Silver & Gold’. I doubt you needed any more convincing that Anthony D’Amato is a special artist but if you did, Paper Back Bones will ultimately validate his talent and enrol you to his ever-growing fan club. Resistance is futile.
Words: Carly Goodman