You know something? Besides putting you one up on me, is that something relevant to a discussion on quality. Musical quality at that. I say that because Amelia White - native of Virginia but now calling Nashville her home – has the mark of class and her album “Beautiful and Wild” proves more than adequate proof of this.
She sounds quite urban here – and I mean that in a good way – with her sharp mind poetically dissecting city life. “Sidewalks”, in particular, is more New York than Nashville in its sentiments and gives the first hint that Ms White might better be compared to male singer songwriters. Sure enough, as the album progresses,“Lonely Sound” echoes Harry Chapin and the title track has all the practised mellow rock feel of a Jackson Browne song.
There are elements of Americana present – it is the fashion, after all – but “Mercy” indicates that Ms White’s inspiration is not so much the past as its poetry. Similarly, her respectful cover of “More Than This” is more indicative of her respect for civilised eloquence than anything else.
“Beautiful and Wild” is a polished and civilised – there’s that word again – album that would be a latté if it were a coffee. A lot of people like lattés. Just look around you next time you are in Starbucks.