Amilia K Spicer releases “Harlan”

Amilia K Spicer releases “Harlan”

URL: http://www.amiliakspicer.com/bio

Country music, from a critical standpoint, has been a rather boring affair for the last few years, with many of the genre’s giants fading into the background and its rising stars offering little variety in their repertoire. There hasn’t been an artist for critics to really get super excited about – until Amilia K Spicer. Spicer’s new single “Harlan” is a game changer for the country scene and comes with a video capable of creating just as many waves, and though her competition is essentially slim to nil right now, she still deserves all the credit we would award to a singer/songwriter coming out of a more competitive environment.

Spicer has been conquering the American live circuit over the last year through a rigorous touring schedule that has taken her all over the country and introduced her affectionate brand of Americana to the people who inspired its very conception. I think that the mileage she picked up out on the road has done her music quite well, and judging from the professional quality of her new music video I’d say that she has all of the necessary gears in place to take her career to the next level. “Harlan” is definitely breakout song material; I’d even go as far as to say it has instant classic capabilities written into its DNA.

There’s been some debate over whether or not country music will be able to keep up with modern trends and tastes in the 2020s due to the genres formulaic traditions that haven’t changed all that much in the last half century (save for the addition of overdriven amplifiers on occasion). As long as artists like Amilia K Spicer are making angelically simple and stirring songs like this though, there still might be hope for the great American soundtrack. Country music doesn’t need someone to carry on its dated traditions; it needs someone to create new ones, and Spicer is just the woman for the job.

“Harlan” is as brooding in its tone as Mazzy Star’s “Look on Down From the Bridge,” but with a decidedly more rollicking lyricism to it. The first time I listened to this track through I felt a little battered by its aggressive physicality, but after repeated listens I started to decipher the angular structure enough to see past Spicer’s enigmatic front. The great thing about a song like this is that you can listen to it over and over and never walk away with the exact same interpretation of its prose. This is intellectual country for an intellectual generation.

Amilia K Spicer is going places fast, and if you want a glimpse into what the future of country music is going to sound like (if it has any hopes of remaining relevant to pop culture), I would recommend giving “Harlan” a spin and taking in its spellbinding video as well. Art is purely subjective, and while it is only my opinion that Spicer is going to be the next member of the Nashville royal family, it certainly helps my argument that I’m not the only critic saying as much.

SHAZAM: https://www.shazam.com/artist/41218474/amilia-k-spicer

Mindy McCall