Amanda Kravat starts in a moment of every-dayness, then as “Wouldn’t Be This” catches a contemplative groove, she begins crafting a billowing dream of what could be — for herself, and for this song.
“Wouldn’t Be This,” which advances a new four-song EP called AK from Viper Records, builds with an enveloping power, adding layers of scrumptious pop beauty even as Kravat continues to sharpen the lyric. As pretty as the track can no doubt be, it’s not soft. Instead, she’s facing things as they are, even as she determinedly begins to clear a path for what will most assuredly come next.
If there’s any justice, that would be wider stardom for Kravat, whose sense of rigorous wit amidst impossibly gorgeous hooks (not to mention that shock of hair) recalls Aimee Mann. But there’s some of Chrissie Hynde’s could-give-a-shit toughness, too. Credit for this layered approach probably goes to life choices, which saw her putting aside the music business to raise a family. This is a song written by someone who’s seen life outside of the corner coffee-house bandstand, and it’s all the better for those experiences — both good and bad.
AK, mixed by Mark Saunders of David Bowie and the Cure fame, heralds Amanda Kravat’s next chapter. Due for digital release on October 14, 2014 with national distribution to follow via INgrooves/Fontana in early 2015, the EP is rounded out by “Not Myself Today,” “I Could Tell You I Don’t Love You” and “Somebody Else is Driving.”
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