CINDER WELL
A Blooming Body (Hen House Studios)
Under her musical alias Cinder Well, Amelia Baker has released a steady stream of intriguing, intimate music which mostly eludes simple categorisation. Folk-rock of a sort, with Baker’s voice and guitar playing the centrepiece, latest album A Blooming Body is however marked by the deployment of multiple guest players: its record label is also the studio (in her current home of LA) where it was recorded, and indeed it’s a record that uses the studio judiciously.
Though it ends on a heavy, slothful note with Shadows Of Leaves On Red Brick, this album is often upbeat by Cinder Well standards, with Laurel Canyon stylistic tics making themselves apparent. Ashes is Baker at her most Americana-leaning, though this effect is upended towards the end by a dissonant volley of horns. The artist spent a few years living in Ireland, studying its traditional music and connecting with acts such as Lankum: activity evident on her last album, 2023’s Cadence, but less so here.
One musical bracketing Baker might prefer to resist is that of other well-travelled singer-songwriter women with American Gothic tendencies, such as Marissa Nadler and Nina Nastasia. From a consumer guide perspective, at least, it’s fair to suggest that anyone who enjoys their music should investigate A Blooming Body.
words NOEL GARDNER
