Amy Speace

Singer-songwriter
Jersey City, NJ

Indie Americana-Rock-Folk

Amy Speace - Weight Of The World


Amy just released her first fully produced music video for her song Weight of the World. The video features soldiers from Airforce and Army units of the New York National Guard from Beacon area bases. This version of the song will be included on the upcoming Wildflower Records compilation "Got To Get A Message To You," to be released Jan 13 2009 (www.myspace.com/gottogetamessagetoyou). An acoustic version will be included on Amy's new CD "The Killer in Me", to be released on the same date. www.amyspeace.com

Genre: Rock | Americana | Country
Sounds Like / Would Open For: Lone Justice, The Jayhawks (if they had a chick lead singer), Lucinda w/ a different voice, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Roseanne Cash, early Joan Baez, Ryan Adams, Natalie Merchant.

Location: New York City

Management: Grassy Hill Entertainment
Label: Wildflower Records

On her new album Songs for Bright Street, New York-based singer/songwriter Amy Speace demonstrates why she's quickly become one of her adopted hometown's most celebrated emerging artists. Possessing a commanding voice, a distinctive melodic sensibility and an uncanny knack for nailing complex emotions in song, Speace makes music that's both illuminating and effortlessly accessible.

From the rustic rush of "Step Out of the Shade" to the bittersweet lilt of "Water Landing" to the gentle acoustic intimacy of "Two," Songs for Bright Street's 12 original compositions (plus a slyly countrified reading of the Blondie classic "Dreaming") showcase Speace's unique gifts, offering catchy Americana with indelible hooks, sharply observed lyrics and a gritty urban edge. Among those impressed by her sassy songcraft is legendary folk-pop songstress Judy Collins, who chose Songs for Bright Street to release on her new Wildflower label.

Amy Speace has already won a loyal grass-roots fan base, thanks in large part to live performances that merge warmth, humor and emotional immediacy, and to a tireless touring schedule that's already taken her across the United States. She's also won considerable critical acclaim, with The Village Voice observing that Speace is "taking her Americana away from twangy contemplation toward tangy confrontation" and noting that she's "not another of those breathy would-be child poets, but a real singing writer of songs." Time Out New York stated, "Amy Speace plays sweet, twangy folk music with a clear voice and an innocent vulnerability," while The Nashville Scene noted that she "balances wry humor with open-hearted honesty." And renowned Nashville critic Robert K. Oermann, writing in Music Row, dubbed her a "new star."

Amy Speace's Website
www.amyspeace.com

Songs For Bright Street, Wildflower Records (2006)
Retail: amazon.com | Amie St. | CD Baby | iTunes

 

"... a baker's dozen of heartfelt, soul stirring, uplifting and crashing down again songs ... Ms. Speace knows how to rip your heart out and shred it to pieces." - Zeitgeist-scot.co.uk

"If you're a fan of Lucinda Williams / Caitlin Cary / Roseanne Cash then give this girl a whirl and wonder why you haven't heard of her before... [Songs for Bright Street]'s got the lot - lots of sad country twang, a dollop of folk and just a smidge of pop... In short, it's full of melodic treats that will make your heart ache." - Lonesome Music

"Speace combines country and folk to great effect and her lovely vocal inflections invite favourable comparison with her compatriate & contemporary Dar Williams. A fine album ..." - Classic Rock Society

"Songs For Bright Street' by Amy Speace & The Tearjerks is a piece of nu-country magic - superbly crafted, rammed with lyrical reality, overflowin' with instrumental brilliance. Oh, and then there's those Amy Speace vocals - simply stunning!! Country music at its grittiest, most tangible and outrageous best!" - Toxic Pete

"This cool little lady ... has one of those spellbinding voices that just draws you in ... soft and seductive, yet witty and street smart, and a little dangerous ... Her voice is to die for but the Americana foly, twangy country arrangements ... and the confrontational songwriting come up to the same level. This album is like the summer we never had ... she gets two fullhearted thumbs up. Hell, I'll give her a few digits extra. She's that good." - Irish World

"Amy Speace has one of those fetching voices, the kind that taps you on the shoulder and motions seductively for you to follow it around corner after dark corner. You don't know where you're going to end up or how you'll ever find your way back, but that doesn't matter right now: you're enjoying the trip." - Scott Brodeur, No Depression

"The talented Ms. Speace is lately taking her Americana away from twangy contemplation toward tangy confrontation. Paste magazine has discovered her, and you should too... she's well worth checking out." - Barry Mazor, The Village Voice

"[Speace's] arresting voice combines the best parts of Lucinda Williams with Roseanne Cash ... [and] brings an unflagging sense of 21st century hipness to all her songs. Produced by James Mastro, Songs For Bright Street delivers big-budget sound worthy of any A-list performer." - Steven Stone, Vintage Guitar Magazine

"Rarely do I receive a CD that is complete in its brilliance...songwriting, music, production. Amy Speace's most recent release is one of those rare CDs. Like a relieving wind on a hot day, Amy reminds me that there is always someone out there who has The Goods" - Michael Jaworek, The Birchmere Theatre, Alexandria VA