|
|
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
Sign up and
Get informed
with the RS
Launch Pad!! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Release: |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Anybody can have their “rock,”
“punk” or “folk” phase—real
artists transcend boundaries and
genres so gracefully that their
fans hardly blink an eye. Aimee
Allen is that type of
songwriter. The e xplosive,
outspoken voice behind modern
rock monsters “Revolution” and
“If It Feels Right” (not to
mention contributions to the
Grammy-nominated Hairspray
soundtrack and multiple
best-selling,
critically-acclaimed artists)
unveils a more serene side of
her personality on A Little
Happiness. Despite her decision
to record the album in the
depths of a desolate Indiana
winter, Happiness radiates her
sense of home in the California
sunshine—its 11 introspective,
largely acoustic tracks conjure
the simple bliss of a drive down
to the Pacific.
The record may define chill, but
its conception was anything but.
After separating with boyfriend
and collaborator Scott Russo of
Unwritten Law (Scott & Aimee
delivered the scathingly sensual
cult hit Sitting in a Tree in
2007), Allen’s quest to embark
on her solo project was
interrupted by a random gang
assault outside of an L.A.
recording studio last summer. “I
never thought I would be able to
sing again,” she remarks. “I
have some memory loss, too,
which is great. Turns out
getting nearly beaten to death
was probably the greatest thing
that ever happened to me.” Allen
did recuperate, recovering just
in time to perform her songs for
punk-rock Pre sidential
candidate Ron Paul before a
sold-out arena in Minneapolis.
Still, the lingering effects of
post-traumatic stress disorder
altered her outlook on music.
“Anything that was distorted,
loud or angry overloaded my
senses,” she says. 0Reggae
always makes me happy, so this
record has a lot of that
sprinkled in, and I’m excited
that I made a record where I can
smile and dance onstage, instead
of scream at people every
night.”
Allen is proud that her album is
free of production shortcuts,
refreshingly simplified and
eschewing the synthetic for the
organic. Happiness is just as
animated in its stories of
heartbreak as its celebrations
of getting over it, exemplified
in both “Change in Weather” and
“On Vacation.” Yet, there is an
undercurrent of spiritual and
social commentary throughout.
“Calling the Maker” (which
features one of the few samples
on the album, taken from one of
the first instances of recorded
sound in the United States) is
her plea for mercy on Judgment
Day. Allen confronts organized
religion while exposing her own
naked fallibility in “God
Talks,” and in “Save Me”
(co-written with Linda Perry),
implies that no one can change
her but God.
The title of the record really
says it all—on A Little
Happiness, she courageously
explores the reaches of elation
and despondency, but never
strays too far from the healthy,
cautious optimism that defines
her signature autobiographical
storytelling. Allen’s strongest
collection of songs to date
honors the painful journey she
took to create them. "I've made
a lot of lyrically shocking and
dark music in the past. But once
you have a brush with death,
things change. I'm just stoked
I've made a record that shines a
little light, ya know?" |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
