Music
Press
"Like the passing seasons that shape our lives, Amy Laber is a force of nature, evoking us toward a new self-awareness, and eventually, toward a personal harmony with the elements of the Earth, which sustain us. Honest and lyrical, hers is a talent that will not be denied: a guardian of wisdom past- a herald of optimism for the future. In her first offering- Cold, Cold Year- she unfolds the essence of her own vulnerability, and ultimately, the essence for us all, of what it is to be human. " - Author
“Cold, Cold Year is a post 9/11 musical time capsule for healing.
Amy Laber’s music invites you into this winter’s novel, warming your soul, awakening your heart.”
- Singer/Songwriter
"From songs about Matamoros, Texas, to ground zero, desperation and hope ebb and flow on Amy Laber's CD "Cold, Cold Year."...Her milk-and-honey voice combines the depth of Natalie Merchant with the bravado of Bonnie Raitt. Her finger-picking on the guitar is confident. Her ability to tell a story comes off as wise and weathered, but not callous....Each lyric she sings seems to take flight, like a balloon that slips out of a child's hand."
- Poughkeepsie Journal
#2. Amy Laber, "Matamoros Banks"
Cubbyhole Café, Poughkeepsie, Dec. 7.
- "On Oct. 2 I drove to Hartford, Conn., to see Bruce Springsteen. I had to be back in the office at 6 a.m. the next day so I crashed at the home of a very good friend in Poughkeepsie after the show. When I arrived, he had Springsteen's "Devils and Dust" DVD all cued up to "Matamoros Banks." I don't like Bruce Springsteen. Never have, I doubt I ever will. But he writes a heck of a song and puts on a heck of a show. His performance on that DVD was spine-tingling. So I walk in late to Amy's Cubbyhole performance, sit down, and of course, she busts into her version "Matamoros Banks." Chills! I only stayed for that song. I had seen enough. She has quite a voice and Bruce Springsteen would do well to study the way she performs to spice up his live performances." -John Barry
- Poughkeepsie Journal
"Cold Cold Year is a dark blue midnight dream, and Amy Laber’s voice rises to pierce the darkness."
"Amy Laber’s Cold Cold Year breaks the ice as this singer/songwriters first CD. Laber’s vocals are supported by the expert guitar work of Todd Giudice, and Pat Wictor, among other powerful players. Deep and restless, she delivers 7 original songs and 2 covers that are at once dark and encouraging. Wandering far from home Laber casts a searching look out toward the horizon. On the song, I Couldn’t Stop, Mark Murphy’s cello, and Bob Cage’s violin whisper a haunting plea for transformation. This CD’s musical arrangements are sophisticated but not tricky. Amy Laber’s vocals are natural and fit like a glove. Her voice is calm and reassuring on Springsteen’s Matamoras Banks, and stands up next to any of the original material. The finish is flawless, and the production is as good as Labers wonderful voice and honest, heartfelt songs."
- WVKR Thin Air
In the last year or so, New Paltz-based singer songwriter Amy Laber has been quietly making a name for herself here in the Hudson Valley, playing prestigious venues like the Towne Crier in Pawling and Bodles Opera House in Chester.
Now Laber turns in an engaging nine-song CD produced by Todd Giudice with an understated sparseness. She calls her music “hypno-folk,” and it’s her strong Celtic leanings that give the music an intoxicating, underlying darkness. Bathed in slinky guitars, “In Your Shadow” finds Laber drunk on love and trying to avoid the inevitable hangover, while “Taken” is something you can really sink your teeth into, a deep, circular ode to commitment where Laber’s luxurious voice digs far down.
The autumn tones of “I Couldn’t Stop” recall a faraway time and place maybe you only visited in your dreams, but soon Laber’s soothing voice seduces and calls in the moving “Towers of Love” which holds a hypnotic drone and a story of 9/11 and its legacy. The unflinchingly honest of “Faith” is a powerful testament to love on all levels, and a fitting close to this exquisite collection. - Chronogram Magazine
Discography
Cold, Cold Year (2008)
www.myspace.com/amylaber
Photos
Bio
“Each lyric she sings seems to take flight, like a balloon that slips out of a child’s hand.”-Poughkeepsie Journal
When Amy Laber picks up her guitar and begins to sing, you sense a yearning soul with the courage to tell her story. Her milk-and-honey voice and confident guitar picking blend to deliver songs that are honest and real. Amy’s music has “an intoxicating, underlying darkness,” says Chronogram Magazine. She weaves a musical tapestry of personal struggle, loss, love, and ultimately of redemption.
A Connecticut native, Amy moved to New York State to study Music Therapy at SUNY New Paltz. She felt an immediate spiritual bond with the Hudson River Valley, which inspired her journey of songwriting and performing. Amy has performed in many venues throughout the region, including Cafe Vivaldi in NYC, the Colony Cafe in Woodstock, NY, Bodles Opera House in Chester, NY and the Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, NY where she has opened for Annie Haslam of Renaissance and Sean Kelly of The Samples. Amy’s music has received airplay on WELV, WKZE and WVKR where she has appeared as a featured artist on radio shows ‘Regional Frequency’ and ‘Thin Air’.
In early 2008, Amy released her debut studio recording “Cold, Cold Year”. The self-released CD includes 7 original songs and 2 cover songs, one of which is a haunting version of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Matamoros Banks’. “Cold, Cold Year” has been described as “...a post 9/11 time capsule for healing. Amy Laber’s music invites you into a winter’s novel, warming your soul, awakening your heart.”
Amy is looking forward to playing more live shows and building her fan base throughout the Northeast and beyond.
Links
