New Orleans-raised AM, brings a heady brew of twanging Americana, twinkling Anglified folk-rock-pop, caressing Philly soul and funky R&B whatchacallit - and, best of all, joyously unheard points in-between. AM does all this with a finessing ear for the ancient art of true songcraft.
If it is true that you are judged by the company you keep, it seems that the AM has been in extremely good company this year. When AIR heard AM's new record Future Sons & Daughters, they chose him to open their first North American tour in 3 years, and then invited him to France to introduce him to their homeland. AM also toured with Charlotte Gainsbourg on her first North American tour. AM brings together the best of musical worlds, rippling through AM pop and rock, steamy soul and R&B, Brazilian tropicalia, British Invasion, and ‘60s Bay Area psychedelia on his new album Future Sons & Daughters (praised by Death + Taxes for its "equally cool and casual, laid-back sunny vibes.") AM brings unique originality to a very personal brand of soul; earning him comparisons to everyone from Beck and Wilco to Brian Wilson and The Byrds.
Future Sons & Daughters pays homage to AM's diverse musical tastes (Jorge Ben, Brian Wilson, Sergio Mendes and Curtis Mayfield) while showcasing his own songwriting chops, intelligent lyrics and psychedelic grooves. A lot of musicians pay lip service to having a plethora of far-flung musical "influences," but then you listen to their music and it sounds like they've done their best to avoid them at any cost. AM tints his modern, fresh-eared music with hints of the aforementioned - all with a delicate hand.
Recorded and produced by Charles Newman (Magnetic Fields) in an old cottage in the artsy Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake once inhabited by Elliott Smith, using a collection of instruments dated no later than 1970, the record represents a full flowering of AM's singular gifts. We're not just dealing with breezy pop here: there's an undercurrent of something a bit darker veiled in the catchy melodies. One inescapably comes to the conclusion: This is such intelligent stuff, and it all just feels so good.