Amy Kuney: Bird’s Eye View

With Amy Winehouse spending more time in tabloid pages than in the studio or onstage, the western world is ripe for a soul singing chanteuse to take her place. There may be candidates with more soul in their voices but Amy Kuney’s combination of songwriting chops, professionalism and vocal strength may make her a leading candidate.

Kuney’s latest release, Bird’s Eye View, is filled from top to bottom with the acoustic Lillth Fair-vibe that she has become known for while releasing an EP and performing a hundred live dates a year. What it also has, that may come as a surprise, is a lot of soul. Kuney sings with hints and flavors of Motown that only reveal what may be hiding behind her other recordings. In the track “Angel Tangled in the Telephone Lines” it sounds as if her voice is seconds away from breaking through the more generic singer songwriter category she often is left in to fill the vacancy of Winehouse’s collapse and Joss Stones safe jazz vocal choices. “Would You Miss Me” picks up the pace but still conveys a soul chanteuse looking to break out.