NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Amber Rhodes
Robert L. Doerschuk
January 12, 2009
In older times, ships at sea found their way home by triangulation. In today's music industry, artists can similarly chart their courses through the relationship of three points.
For Amber Rhodes, the first of these is Lexington, Ky., where she grew up with a love of Country Music. Point two is New York City, an unlikely port for those who follow the Country star. Still, while pursuing options as an actress and dancer, Rhodes connected with Axel Neihaus and Erik Steinert, co-owners of the Brooklyn-based production and artist development company Stray Dog Music. Their meeting led to the studio, where they produced her debut album, Goodbye Yesterday.
As sole writer on four songs and co-writer on the remaining six, Rhodes exhibits a particular way with hooks and words. The first single, "So Long Goodbye," which she penned with Hugh Colocott, builds momentum through a rush of deftly rhymed lyrics through the second half of each verse and into a classically crafted and catchy chorus. Her writing hand is steady on the ballads too, as on "Goodbye Yesterday," where practically the same structural formula leads to an equally rich but more poetic expression, all of which she enhances with a vocal style that moves easily from sensitive to sassy.
The third point in Rhodes' constellation? It's Nashville, of course, where her ongoing collaborations with local writing talent and imminent second album confirm that her career is on course.
2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
For Amber Rhodes, the first of these is Lexington, Ky., where she grew up with a love of Country Music. Point two is New York City, an unlikely port for those who follow the Country star. Still, while pursuing options as an actress and dancer, Rhodes connected with Axel Neihaus and Erik Steinert, co-owners of the Brooklyn-based production and artist development company Stray Dog Music. Their meeting led to the studio, where they produced her debut album, Goodbye Yesterday.
As sole writer on four songs and co-writer on the remaining six, Rhodes exhibits a particular way with hooks and words. The first single, "So Long Goodbye," which she penned with Hugh Colocott, builds momentum through a rush of deftly rhymed lyrics through the second half of each verse and into a classically crafted and catchy chorus. Her writing hand is steady on the ballads too, as on "Goodbye Yesterday," where practically the same structural formula leads to an equally rich but more poetic expression, all of which she enhances with a vocal style that moves easily from sensitive to sassy.
The third point in Rhodes' constellation? It's Nashville, of course, where her ongoing collaborations with local writing talent and imminent second album confirm that her career is on course.
2008 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.