Amy LaVere

Amy LaVere has taken many roads on her journey to stardom: She's not only a singer, songwriter and bassist, but she's also acted — most notably in Walk the Line, in which she plays rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson. Born in the Deep South and raised in Detroit, LaVere now lives in Memphis, a town that matches her musical persona: a blend of classic country, jazz and gypsy blues.

LaVere's 2006 debut, This World Is Not My Home, showcases her cathartic twang while drawing from influences as varied as Billie Holliday, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Dolly Parton. Her new Anchors & Anvils, recorded with legendary producer Jim Dickinson, expands on the sounds and themes of its predecessor, while continuing to demonstrate her talent for luminous, accessible songcraft. - David Dye, NPR World Cafe

It's probably unfair to compare every young, sweet-voiced, genre-bending chanteuse with Norah Jones. Though Amy LaVere similarly sounds jazzy and torchy with touches of country and soul, what distinguishes her are the Memphis grooves of producer Jim Dickinson and the edgier sensibility she brings to material such as "Killing Him," "Pointless Drinking," and "People Get Mad." A stand-up acoustic bassist and sometime actress (Black Snake Moan, Walk the Line), LaVere brings a seductive lilt to "Tennessee Valentine" and "Cupid's Arrow," with the funky propulsion of Carla Thomas's "That Beat" and the relentless throb of "Washing Machine" showing that she can be earthy as well as dreamy. An open-hearted rendition of Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You" closes this solid sophomore effort. - Don McLeese, Amazon.com

Bassist/vocalist Amy LaVere’s musical interests stretch from ’20s hot jazz to western swing, honky-tonk, the blues and soul, plus torch songs and pop ballads.

While her first release featured the expert production assistance of the legendary Jim Dickinson and served to introduce both her enticing vocals and emphatic bass playing, it didn’t present her complete artistic range.

But LaVere’s new release Anchors & Anvils (Archer) does showcase the complete repertoire, including a superb cover of a little known (except to soul collectors) Carla Thomas tune “That Beat (Keeps Disturbing My Sleep)” redone in vivid gypsy style, another excellent treatment of a Dylan tune “I’ll Remember You,” and “Tennessee Valentine,” a composition co-written by the late dulcimer virtuoso David Schnaufer that emphasizes her country touches.

“I wanted to present a bigger picture of my music this time around,” LaVere said. “The goal was to make sure that all these different styles resulted in a cohesive project, rather than just going all over the place.”

LaVere will perform songs from Anchors & Anvils Friday at the Basement (9 p.m., 1604 8th Ave S., 254-8006), heading a band that’s being expanded to a quintet for the occasion with the addition of pedal steel player Eric Lewis. He’s joining violinist Bob Firgu, drummer Paul Taylor and guitarist Mark Miller.

While she continually gets raves for her singing and playing, LaVere’s also gotten plenty of attention for acting in the past couple of years. Her most recent appearance came in Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan, and she also had a cameo in Walk The Line portraying rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson.

But she’s now also devoting more time and attention to songwriting, though she only includes three originals on the latest CD, saying she’s more concerned with the overall quality of the material than in simply highlighting her own works.

“I have a lot of respect for people who can do all the songs on their projects and make them stand out. My style tends to be so uncensored and I’m a harsh critic of my own work, so it’s hard for me sometimes to feel that my songs are as good as those of some other people whose music I enjoy so much.” - Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper

Amy LaVere grew up in a small, southern town, but her eclectic musical
style deserved the diversity of a city. She is certainly deserving of the NYC atmosphere and will perform at The Bitter End on May 31.

LaVere started entering the music scenes of big cities when her family
moved to Detroit when she was a teenager, at which point she performed in the punk band Last Minute. All grown up, she moved to Nashville where she formed the duo The Gabe & Amy Show, and then finally settled in Memphis, where she returned to the classic country music on which her parents had raised her.

What kind of musician would LaVere be if she didn’t bring with her the
different styles of music she explored while moving around the nation? Though you won’t hear punk on her sophomore album, Anchors & Anvils,
for which LaVere is credited with vocals, upright bass, and some songwriting, you will hear a hybrid of country and jazz. While the innocent, unassuming appearance of LaVere leads to expectations of tame lyrics, the girl has a dark side. Sometimes twisted, sinister words are weaved throughout her songs, but a sweetness and sincerity still prevail.

The Bitter End is located at 147 Bleecker St. The show is at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $7. For more about LaVere, visit myspace.com/amylavere or archer-records.com.
- Divya Gunasekaran, Aquarian Weekly

Amy LaVere, Anchors & Anvils
(Archer)
Time for a left-field surprise. Amy LaVere’s second album is as unexpected an achievement as anything this year. She travels the rootsy side of the road, but never lets that hem her in. Instead, she uses the simplicity of her aura and takes into a third dimension, one where her voice and words and music combine for a shining ride. Not only that, but producer Jim Dickinson, who has worked with everyone from Ry Cooder, Big Star, the Replacements, Toots Hibbert and Texas Tornados, has outdone even himself, utilizing LaVere’s unique presence and framing it with exquisite and always exciting sonic settings. There is true beauty written all over Anchors & Anvils, something to float away on when the world tries to keep you earthbound, and ensuring everyone who listens a summer full of wonder. - Billy Bentley, Studio City Sun/Sherman Oaks Sun

Having appeared in both of Craig Brewer's Memphis films (she's called the city home since 1999) and portrayed Wanda Jackson in "Walk the Line," the time for her breakthrough seems right. She's got an uncontested winner in the love letter "Tennessee Valentine," which appearing as the second track quickly establishes the disc as above average. The midtempos suit her well; drummer Taylor's "Pointless Drinking" (with a surprising neutral point of view) is further proof. She penned "Killing Him" and the song might prompt comparisons to Jones were the subject not about a murderous romance.

"Anchors & Anvils" jumps styles as the disc progresses. "People Get Mad" is light funk and "Overcome" has an overt country influence. While they may not work as immediately as the opening quartet of tunes (a tango translation of an obscure Carla Thomas song rounds them out), LaVere's musical willingness ultimately proves an asset. Plus, she hangs nicely with Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You" as the disc closer. It would be our loss if her popularity were contained to Memphis.
- Ray Hogan, Stamford Advocate

Listen to the review here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10576937

Amy LaVere sings, plays the stand-up bass and acts — you've seen her, perhaps, in Walk the Line and Black Snake Moan.
Anchors & Anvils is the jazzy, torchy, after-a-breakup second album by singer, actress and stand-up bassist Amy LaVere. Jim Dickinson, who's worked with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and the Replacements, produced the disc. - Ken Tucker, NPR

There's an offbeat, off-the-cuff quality that makes Amy LaVere's Anchors & Anvils easy to like. First, there's the choice of songs, like the opener, "Killing Him," with LaVere sweetly singing that killing a love interest isn't enough to make the love go away. This, of course, wouldn't be very funny if a man sang it, but LaVere's straight reading and the melancholy fiddle accompaniment find the right balance. Paul Taylor's "Pointless Drinking" falls into a similar groove, a funny-sad song married to a '50s-style melody. The simple arrangements add to the album's left-of-center appeal, with steel guitars, fiddles, and guitars whipping up a lazy mixture that falls somewhere between old rock and country with perhaps a touch of jazz thrown in. At one moment, LaVere and company cover Tex-Mex ("Overcome"), the next, funky rock ("People Get Mad"). Even on a fairly straightforward song like "That Beat," the band brings a carefree joy that commingles well with LaVere's torch singer vocal. Unlike many singer/songwriters, LaVere has pulled good songs from a variety of sources, and even when she borrows a song from a familiar figure like Bob Dylan, she borrows one of his lesser-known songs ("I'll Remember You"). Anchors & Anvils' off-the-cuff qualities help separate the album from run-of-the-mill singer/songwriter product, and because of this, make LaVere more appealing than the average singer/songwriter. - Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. - All Music.com

The sound that introduces "Anchors and Anvils," the second album by Memphis singer-bassist Amy LaVere, is a relaxed, enticing Southern-soul groove. Her kittenish coo nuzzles your ear like a lover. Then you notice whawt she's whispering: "Love weighed on her heart like a marble stone/Flash of a knife, he was gone." A sultry tale of love gone wrong. "Killing him includes the plaintative refrain "Killing him didn't make the love go away."

It's not surprising that LaVere is a master of misdirection given her current sideline as an actor: She played a small part in "Black Snake Moan", and portrayed rockabilly wildcat Wanda Jackson in "Walk the Line." In a video interview currently posted on YouTube, "Anchors and Anvils" producer Jim Dickinson (Big Star, North Mississippi Allstars) likens the singer's approach to "Twin Peaks" - suitably Hollywoodesque shorthand for the tales of heartache, alcoholic dissipation and murder tha lurk behind the album's veneer of normalcy.

LaVere's playlist includes three strong originals, personalized takes on Carla Thomas's "That Beat" and Bob Dylan's "I'll Remember You," and five further songs filled with heartfelt twang and clever turns of phrase. A rock-solid bassist, LaVere locks in tight with Dickinson's keys and a supporting cast that includes fiddler Bob Furgo, guitarist Jimbo Mathus and drummer Paul Taylor. Out front, her voice flutters and bobs, spinning heavy yarns one gossamer thread at a time.

Four Stars. - Steve Smith - Time Out New York

As to why Amy LaVere's nearly flawless "Anchors and Anvils" is being discussed in this particular section [reviews] of the magazine and not in the cover feature, I have no idea. LaVere's voice, equal parts Dolly Parton, Billie Holiday, Liz Phair and Shirley Temple is a stunningly sensual instrument capable of delivering the line "Killing him didn't make the love go away" with an egalitarian empathy normally found in God's most noble creatures, such as, say, angles or unicorns. As if her voice and songwriting weren't enough...LaVere also happens to be an ace upright bassist, capable of triple slapping in the style of Willie Dixon and twirling that non-insubstantial instrument like a child's toy. These sort of fireworks don't often enter into the mix of "Anchors and Anvils," the contents of which remain demurely restrained in their bodice most of the time. There is an undeniable swagger and croon to the proceedings; it's as if the ablum's butt is from Memphis but its heart lives in Nashville, circa 1963. When LaVere is not pining for a lover, she is usually thinking of hurting him, often against her better judgment: Witness the aforementioned "Killing Him" and "Cupid's Arrow." This is the future folks: get on board while you can still say "I told you so." - David Meade - American Songwriter Magazine