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Two Brooklynites, Folking it Right

Amanda Bret and Vanderbilt Pack Varied Punches; Pleasing for All

Amanda Bret and Vanderbilt are two Brooklynites who are doing the singer-songwriter schtick right.  If you’re sick of overwrought soloists plaguing your favorite hole in the wall with Dashboard Confessional-esque meanderings, you’ll be glad to know that these two are making folk sound good again.  The biggest difference between them and any other random artist you’ll find on the Lower East side?  Both bring an honesty that is somehow more than your standard “heart on the sleeve.”

Trained in a variety of instruments since age 7, Amanda now sings with her guitar and a self-assured voice that could only stem from the New York fire escapes she writes her songs on.  Standing at a demure 5’3” with glasses that refuse to remain in place, you’d never expect her EP, Dean Street, to be a collection of acoustic tunes that pulls at parts of your stomach you didn’t know existed.  At once endearing and pleasantly contrived, her songs fall out of her smoker’s chest as tangibly comely and quickly decaying as the full-colored dying moth tattoo that paints her bicep.  Her hushed and elfin vocals lend credit to lines that strike at the gut: “but now I am below your standards for sure/went from Bed-Stuy to Greenpoint, more ‘scene’ points galore” or the pleasantly plucked plea to an officer, “Thirty bucks is a lot, I work my heiny off to make that kind of dough/so put down your pen and give me a hug, nobody has to know.”  If folksy, acoustic lullabyes filled to the brim with quirk and wit are your thing, give Amanda five minutes of your time and you’ll want to pull her off the fire escape forever.

If you can’t do the whole pixie-fairy-folk thing, Vanderbilt is the roots-rock ass-kicking you’re looking for.  Don’t let his usual Oxford, vest, and Morrissey-esque hair fool you into thinking he’s straight-laced.  The “do,” for one, resulted from a fitful awakening when he realized his daily bed-head fit him better than anything else; commence emergency kitchen haircut.  Vanderbilt says he’s been influenced by everything from classical jazz to Woody Guthrie and Led Belly and (while laughing) admits that Zeppelin and The Arcade Fire may play a part in there, too.  His seemingly simple one-humbucker style feigns a passion for his work ethic and a hyper-mature depth of social understanding.  He cites that, like his idols, he can’t sit still.  Disparate and unquenchable, his music paints a post-apocalyptic worldview, reminding the listener to “Hold on to the love you have cause everything is bound to die.”  If you’re put off by the overdramatics, listen closer.  You’ll hear all the haunting thoughts that keep you up at night; all the tiny worries that amass into our unique paranoias come spilling out of his mouth with arresting, reckless abandon. 

Vanderbilt will be recording his next album in his 10’ x 10’ studio in his Greenpoint apartment, where he’ll be playing everything from guitars to a cello to all the trumpet parts.  A stray from the minimalist Firing Cannons Over the Water, it’s sure to highlight all the dexterity one could want from a solo artist.  The song streaming below is a first look at this new material.

Amanda has secured herself and Vanderbilt a residency at Brooklyn’s infamous Pete’s Candy Store.  Be sure to check them both out on December 21st and 28th for the “end of a hard year” celebration.

Check out Amanda Bret at http://www.amandabret.com
Check out Vanderbilt at http://www.myspace.com/vanderbiltsongs

Posted by Mark Steffen on Dec 09, 2008 @ 9:00 am