Words by Joseph Murphy

Sometimes, things can be summed up using one word. Scottish songwriter Alex Amor produces a bedroom-dreampop sonic aura which she defines as “The Cosmic Americana”. I would, perhaps far more unimaginatively, describe it as nothing short of ethereal.

Alex’s debut album, ‘Heavenly Bodies’, presents a ride into a blend between all of the sliding, softness of American country-pop, seamlessly incorporated alongside the hovering mystique of modern dreampop. Floating guitars, echoing and churchlike vocals, with a rhythm section that hums in support.

The churchlike comparison isn’t so far off, with the album largely centred on higher powers, whether it be the planets or stars (as the title suggests), God or simply one’s own intuition. Recent single ‘Aquamarine’ is filled with the allusion to cleansing and nature as an almost religious experience. A softly choral vocal line underlines the melody, forming what I’d begin to describe as Alex’s signature sound for the album.

Alex manipulates deceptively simple guitar lines throughout, in a gently twanging manner on my personal favourite, ‘Avalanche’, continuing with her haunting, yet softly building vocal lines, embellished by that clean tone melody. The percussive elements, one not often mentioned for the genre, are worth note, with a decidedly 60s vibe in congruence with the almost Bond-esque imagery of the music video. Outlined in the second half by an airy string buildup, there builds a deeper, more orchestral notion, twinning with that theme of religiosity.

‘Icarus’, opens with a guitar motif which permeates the rest of the track, in a fashion which I liken to The Shadows, eliciting that 60s sensibility once more. Again, I would have to compliment the percussion, which maintains it’s airiness without feeling ungrounded thanks to thick reverbs undercutting the smoothly resolving chorus harmonies. The track forgoes any allusions and presents the tale of Icarus in a modernised into a story of letting go; “So do what you want, but you can’t defy the gods”.

Another favourite ‘Inside’ delivers a decidedly different guitar tone, a watery chorus layered over a thick, thumping bassline. Highlighted in the bridge, that previous embellishing guitar line which once quietly sung, now scrapes in delightful fashion with a jump of power in this open, honest and strong number on loss and relighting a memory. I’d like to note that a song’s outro is often just as powerful as a chorus, with this being no exception. There is each element of the song, laid bare, now brought out by a phenomenally different solo from most of the album, evoking a kind of longing, passion or grasping which speaks without words.

I’ll end how I started, by summing up. Breaking down the final track, a beautiful encore, an encompassing of all the best musical elements of the album. The timbre of Alex’s voice is something particularly matching to those melody lines, outlined by again, strings that support the full band’s instrumentation poignantly, playing once again into the 60s soundtrack feel. This, coupled once again by that rhythm section, underlying the harmonic textures, without going overboard, produces a grand finale to an incredibly strong debut.

Just like the final track, I feel this actually is only the beginning for Alex Amor.