Amy Courts: Local Nashville Musician Puts Together an Excellent Debut

Amy Courts is a singer/songwriter originally from the Denver area who currently resides in Nashville. Her debut EP leaves no doubt that she will have great success in the tough Christian music market. Her album contains 7 tracks that encompass her talents.

Track 1, Barley Breathing, begins with her strong suit: her voice. Right away we see why she has gotten some attention in the Christian market and in various music circles in Nashville and Memphis, where she has played extensively over the past couple of years. While the song starts out a little slow and the music builds up, once the chorus hits with the entire band you can feel the power of the song. The rhythm makes you want to tap your feet and Amy really gets into the vocals and you want to sing along. The slide guitar solo with heavy reverb adds to the overall estetic of the album.

Track 2, Company, once again lets us feel the power of her vocals and talent as a songwriter. Words like "It's your company that I miss, the sweetness of your kiss" would have John Cusack's character in High Fidelity put it on a mixed tape for his love. The music again is a nice mix of upbeat drums and a guitar that doesn't overpower the vocals.

Track 3, Where are you now, starts out a little different. It has a catchy pop rhythm with a funky guitar lick added on top of it. However, it isn't until the chorus that you really get into the song. The way the guitar is played, with a funky grove with distortion on top of it, make you want to learn how to play guitar. Amy really gets into the song, especially at the end of the last chorus and just screams out "I thought I had you now" putting a perfect peak to the song and keeps it going through the end of the song.

Track 4, Save Me, is a little different from the rest of the album, especially the vocals. It's almost is like a song about redemption. Once again, the vocals are rock solid and the music is a good mix of solid rhythm and guitar playing. The peak of the song is clearly the bridge and Amy once again puts a perfect peak at the end by getting into the song and almost screaming "save me" over and over.

Track 5, Alone, changes it up a bit with lighter guitars and drums and lets us focus once again on Amy's voice and lyrics. A song about being lonely and not wanting to be alone. Again, another song that would be a High Fidelity song. Almost a sad song, but still excellent.

Track 6, Free, picks up the tempo a bit, but once again keeps the guitar toned down to allow a more focus on Amy's voice. The chorus is what truly makes the song great. The tambourine mix added to the rhythm make the song flow along and help make people bob their heads along.

Track 7, Nothing Better, is an excellent finish to a great EP. While at first, it seems a bit slower and it has a more sad feel to it, it proves at the end to really hit you and make you remember it. A lot of songs have that one part that everyone remembers and will remember for a long time and this is no exception. When she has what sounds like a church choir behind her all singing "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, I'm alive" it makes your eyes tear up it is so good. I just wish there was more of it because it is so good.

Overall, the vocals are what is key. Amy's strong voice is backed by a solid performance on guitar and drums. The production quality is great and was mixed well. This is a singer that will soon be famous, so pick up the album now so you can say you knew her before she was famous.