"Painted Tiles" by Amalea Tshilds

a Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds

Chicagoan Amalea Tshilds' new record "Painted Tiles" is a lovely walk through the acoustic folk pop world.

There's a tiny twinge of Alt.Country here too on such tracks as "Flood" (which reminds me of the band Tarnation) and "To the Ground" (which reminds me of early Sarah Harmer).

Mostly guitar based the songs are delicate and fresh sounding. They make me think summer…not sure why. Maybe because I'm in anticipation of the season, but this record just seems to "fit" right now for me.

She has a nice command of melody and knows just when to throw in the minor notes in order to keep the songs interesting.

Her voice is soft and soothing. Hitting all the notes (trust me, this is not a given with records I get). It's very nice.

The production is first class as well; it's very lush sounding which is essential for this genre.

"Your Arms" is quite atmospheric.

This is an all around good record, if you're looking for something sweet with mostly mellow tones.

Posted on May 24, 2006