AMANDULA ‘UNDER A BLOOD MOON’ ALBUM REVIEW
Amandula, the eight-track experience created in the thick of the worldwide lockdown, is the first album released by local musician Andrew Fillmore. Following a complete burnout from his career, Andrew found his reinvigoration in the composition of his own original music.
Amandula is a Latin term, translation to ‘almond’, the ancient symbol of wholeness. This symbol is present in each of the eight tracks. They all tend to follow a similar yet distinctive sense of tranquillity and serenity.
The first track, “I am,” begins with a serene and folksy soundscape. The introduction of the twangy acoustic guitar almost gives the vibe of what you’d expect to see in an establishing shot at the beginning of a modern day Western slash outback film. As the first track of the album, it sets the precedent of what is to come. Each track fell perfectly into step with “I am” in terms of mood, composition and genre or classification.
There are notes of inspiration from folk indie artists such as Passenger or Sufjan Stevens across all tracks, but none more so than in the second track of “Under a Blood Moon,” “Songbird.” Continuing on with the seemingly recurrent indie-country theme, “Songbird” introduces more vocal variety. The secondary harmonising over the lead vocals create a sense of depth and character to the light hearted and innocent lyrics. The minor progressions in the harmonising turn the song from carefree naivety to sinister and underhanded. The song feels like it’s hiding from us a dark and ominous secret. In terms of the complexity in pulling off an eerie and disquieting sounding country track— “Songbird” might just be the favourite song from “Under a Blood Moon”.
Then we move on to “Home don’t feel like home anymore (Saudade).” Saudade translating to ‘longing’, this track seems to attempt to evoke a sense of nostalgia or melancholy. “Home don’t feel like home anymore (HDFLHA)” continues with the folksy-country theme as it’s predecessor tracks. The tempo is consistent and familiar. It isn’t a stretch to fairly label this as a saudade song. The music itself does evoke a really powerful feeling of those long road trips... camping under the stars... backpacking through the wilderness… even to those who might not have experienced these memories.
“The album ebbs, flows, twists and turns taking the listener on a journey through 8 introspective and emotionally charged songs of love, loss, self-worth and self-acceptance...”
“The Falling Man” begins differently to the others, and this is a much welcome change. There is no underlying concern that should be watching the intro or outro to a spaghetti western. Instead, the acoustic melody masterfully hooks you within the first four seconds. It’s the kind of melody that you think about even after you pause the song and go do something else. While still standing firmly with one foot in the country genre, we begin to see experimentation in “The Falling Man,” where the second foot teeters into the softer side of rock. Around a minute and a half in, we catapult into some heavier drums and the inclusion of a muted but sturdy bass. At about four minutes in, the pin dropped as the lyrics and the vocal progression gave an instant connection to the iconic Radiohead. It’s rock, but it’s edgy. It’s country, but it’s sinister. “The Falling Man” brings “Under a Blood Moon” out from its dug in position in the country genre, and branches out into rock and indie. Amandula’s ability to give variety while still sticking to his roots and personal style is a huge standout.
The fifth track, “Blood Moon,” begins similarly to “The Falling Man,” but also stumbles backward into its familiar soundscape-like setting. However, there is more melody and consistently in “Blood Moon” than in the first three tracks of the album. The vocals in the bridge and chorus include thick harmonies that sound spectacular. When artists incorporate three-note harmonies over a lead vocal, there’s always an evocation of serenity. There’s something so right about a perfectly structured chord, and Amandula knows how to perfect this harmony in his vocals. While there was an expectation of a stronger build-up to an inevitable climax— a symphony of powerful drums, maybe some more amplifying bass lines, “Blood Moon” maintains a pleasant enough listening experience with a slow, but gratifying, come down.
“Stranger In Time” incorporates a little more riffing and melody with electric guitars in its last quarter, but begins quite similar to the other tracks of “Under a Blood Moon.” Country with a note of indie-rock. Again, we see more laying of vocals, including the additional harmonising throughout. The use of the heart-beat type drums throughout leads to a different sense of urgency, and nostalgia, and is a refreshing change.
The final track before the "I am (Reprise),” titled, “Only A Fool” presents a similar acoustic intro yet with an element of surprise. Amandula’s common theme of acoustic melodies is consistently bright and clear. Around two and a half minutes in, we introduce heavier drums, including a ramped up, marching-band snare. This, hand in hand with the chorale type chants (seemingly) from a crowd, assist in bringing “Only A Fool” into anthem territory... for a brief moment. We then shift back into first gear and begin to wind back down so the song can finish on a similar note to how it began.
It would have been great to have seen this moment ramped up even more— including introducing more passionate lead vocals. Instead of fading back into a soft ending, could’ve made a bigger and more resounding impact if there had been an octave change, or kept that marching-band snare increasing in tempo until it reached such a climactic swell that it’s abrupt end would leave the audience wanting and craving for more. With how perfectly Amandula pulled off the beginning of that moment, around two and a half minutes in, I think leaning into the heavier, dirtier and more-rock-centric vibe would’ve turned this track into an anthem.
As a debut album, ‘Under a Blood Moon’ is a great body of work from Melbourne artist, Amandula. His composition work and talent is a huge standout, one that has the potential to be placed for sync opportunities in films and television shows. We look forward to seeing more from this promising artist in the future.
FOLLOW AMANDULA ON
