Amilia K Spicer: “Fill Me Up” is another gleaming gem
If like me, you sometimes judge artists by the company they keep, then Amilia K Spicer would be on you’re A-list. A simple read through the credits on her latest album “Wow and Flutter” should be enough to convince you – Keyboardists Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers, Foo Fighters) and Mike Finnegan (Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal) contribute, as does Woody Guthrie disciple and singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, alongside bassist Daryl Johnson (Stones/Dylan). Guitarists Tony Gilkyson (X, Lone Justice) and Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams) appear as special guests. Spicer also produced the record, alongside multi-instrumentalist Steve McCormick. Malcolm Burn, whom Spicer contacted because of his work with Daniel Lanois, handled mixing.
From the acclaimed “Wow and Flutter” album comes the lead single and its accompanying video clip entitled, “Fill Me Up”. The video clip, filmed in the very woods Spicer explored as a child in rural Pennsylvania, features scenes of her re-discovering those woods, and in such revisiting her own intimate experiences and emotions.
Amilia K Spicer, with her song sense, acute rhythm guitar playing and set-on-stun gift as a vocal gut-leveler, sounds free to find the essence of her gift and being. The result is a record that shimmers like an oasis in the distance—only this isn’t some illusionary notion. The music is real, visceral and incandescent with the lyrics being transparent enough to see through.
Primal in its delivery, the production on “Fill Me Up” shows the combustion of creation versus the polished tension of studio recording. The song’s atmospheric lyrical meditation, sees the diaphanous vocalist take her blend of Americana and lift it up, make it cool and give it a hipster sheen that is all based on getting back to its roots.
Spicer comes to terms with the past and reassesses her life. She draws up some great images as she takes the listener through the woods with her – “It goes down easy, until your dry / Then the water freezes in a blink of an eye / And you go to the river, go to the stream / You say fill me up, I’ll do anything.”
Amilia K Spicer works her voice like a well-worn and loved piece of clothing, which sounds as snug as an old sweater and jeans. In a genre that tends to place as much emphasis on voices as songs, Spicer’s distinctive songwriting and singing continues to evolve, sounding more nakedly emotive than ever. More than most of her genre contemporaries, Amilia K Spicer can consistently be judged in degrees of brilliance, and “Fill Me Up” is yet another gleaming gem.
MORE ABOUT AMILIA K. SPICER: When Spicer answered music’s call, she was first discovered at a Los Angeles club. That led to a rare main stage Kerrville Folk Festival debut, three Kennedy Center performances, song placements in several high-profile TV productions (Party of Five, Dawson’s Creek), and more. Spicer’s first two releases, Like an Engine and Seamless were released to critical acclaim, with New Texas Magazine calling Spicer “A formidable talent.” Spicer’s music has also earned comparisons to that of Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, and Lanois.
During the writing process for Wow and Flutter, Spicer took time to work on several other projects. Among these, she has been lauded for her contributions to Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young and A Case for Case: A Peter Case Tribute with John Prine. She also appeared on the 2009 Safety Harbor Kids Holiday Collection, alongside Jackson Browne, Sheila E, and Paul Barrere. Spicer has enjoyed other collaborations as well, most notably appearing on albums by John Gorka and the final Rounder release from the late Bill Morrissey
