The Amanda Emblem Experiment - The Wood (2025)

The single, “Storm in My Life,” found its way to my review pile, and I loved everything about its lovely and lilting, upbeat and acoustic ways.

Of course, one single does not an album make, and that is the fun of dropping the virtual needle on a digital long-player and seeing where it takes you. The opening track, “Hanging Flute,” seems to transport us into a strange 1960s hybrid of cosmic country, progressive folk, and chamber music. Intriguing stuff indeed. Almost like an early Jethro Tull piece, which is unexpectedly cool and coolly unexpected!

“Calm Seas” is more in keeping with my expectations, at least those formed by my original encounter, a lovely, cinematic piece of folk-pop, with a dreamy vibe and a beguiling final act, and not unreminiscent of K T Tunstall’s more chilled output.

“Nananah” is a slow and seductive anthem about fun, festivals, music, and joining in. “Thousands of Songs” heads into quirky, musical-theatre-pop singalong territory, and “Together Feeling (The Captain)” is a serene slice of dream-folk.

There is something of both the 1970s Laurel Canyon sound and modern indie-folk going on here, and the charm of the album is that neither seems forced; both come together effortlessly and dance delicately, deliciously, and deftly together.