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Merrie Amsterberg - Season of Rain  (1999 Zoë Records)

          By Ellen Rawson

This 1999 re-release of Boston singer-songwriter Merrie Amsterburg’s original 1996 CD contains two new tracks, “Patchwork” and an interesting cover of  The Police’s “Walking on the Moon.” It also rearranges the track line-up, replacing the contemplative “Island” with the radio-friendly “This Will Never Be My Year” at the start.  That opening song establishes Amsterburg as among the many thoughtful female artists who are compared to Tori Amos and/or Kate Bush, but Amsterburg’s voice truly is her own.  It has a slight “little girl” lilt in its pleasant nasality, but her subjects are not those that would concern young girls.  “This Will Never Be My Year” (“to be happy” is added in the chorus) is narrated by a woman stuck in an apparent dysfunctional and perhaps abusive relationship.  The bouncy melody (Amsterburg plays bouzouki and electric piano) disguises the otherwise serious tone and lines such as “my brain feels black and blue” and the almost-sarcastic knowing sound in “and if I go too far, well I’m sure you’ll let me know.”  This song surpasses “Island,” a much moodier and slower piece, as the lead-in to the rest of the disc.  (“Island,” appropriately enough, now closes the CD.)

The introspective and sometimes despondent lyrics (for example, “Say Goodbye” opens with “I was sleeping when I heard on the telephone/answering machine of your death) are intelligent and thought provoking, yet the music isn’t depressing -- the songs are more thoughtful than sad despite their content.  She talks of “(trying) to get lost in my routine” in “World of My Making,” but the light-sounding mandolin distracts the listener from the utter sadness the narrator experiences when her relationship ends.  The harmonium on “Waiting” adds a light beat to a song about worry and being tentative.

The fact that Amsterburg is a multi-instrumentalist creates intriguing musical choices.  She plays guitar, mandolin, Indian banjo, electric piano, piano, bouzouki, harmonium, and interestingly enough, on “Otherworld,” she tries her hand at trumpet.  It’s a stark song/poem (“who can limit love as candle flames/that blow away”); the faint taste of trumpet adds to its haunting feel.

Haunting is a good word to describe this album and artist.  The songs are eerily attractive; they are often dark, yet their pathos is cathartic.  It’s a CD that will remain with listeners after the closing track ends and certainly deserves repeated play. For more information visit http://www.qdivision.com/merrie

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