A lot of musicians don’t care what you think about them because they know who they are, right? Well, maybe most of them do. Obsessed with image and holding their raging hard-ons in one hand while the other hand is open, waiting for your cash; but the singer/songwriter is of a different breed. They mean what they sing because it’s in their own voice.
Ottawa-area siren Amanda Rheaume definitely knows who she is and clearly lets you know on her 6-track album, If You Never Live. She’s human - with each song Rheaume debates and yearns, then rips open her chest and forces the listener’s ear to her heart; an invitation to eavesdrop on her private beats.
The title track is an open letter to anyone who has ever wrestled with ambivalence. Backed by fiddles and folksy guitars, Rheaume’s sorrowful voice pleads, encouraging everyone to step out of the bell jar.
“If fear stops you,” Rheaume says of the song. “It’s a lot easier to never try and do something because you’ll never fail at it. If you’re too scared to try then you’ll never know if you will fail at it.”
The first half of the disc is hopeful but decidedly morose as Rheaume grapples with a gauntlet of emotions. From calling someone out on the opener “All That You Are” to realizing there’s nothing here for you and it’s time to move on and ship out on “Alone”. “You Try” seems to deal with the end of a relationship set against a heavy background groove.
The brightest spot comes on track 5 with “Out of Hiding”. A song for the outcast or underdog, it’s jumpy and obviously radio-ready. Rheaume displays the confidence we all wish we possessed, at one time or another. The chorus speaks of fearlessness and Rheaume comes off as someone you wish was your friend; always there to pick you up and back you up.
Closing with “Now I Know” the EP seems to come full circle. Bowing out with a realization, Rheaume reinforces what we already knew; she rocks. Straddling between folk and alt-rock, If You Never Live, will take you anywhere you want to go. Up or down or somewhere in between, Rheaume’s been there and wants to tell you about it.
