SINGLE REVIEW | AMA | NYQUIL DREAMS

AMA

AMA, AKA Amanda Williams, is releasing her second solo single – NyQuil Dreams – from a new body of work five years in the making. Having cut her teeth in TeenCanteen Williams is continuing her solo journey and delving deeper into the realms of bubblegum pop.

The lyrics are a pastiche of pop tropes; familiar idioms of dancing on ceilings and heads in clouds act primarily as a vehicle for the ultra-polished vocal production and layers of airtight harmonies. Williams’ vocals share some of the Lauper-esque inflections and and tonal qualities of former bandmate Carla J Easton, her elongated vowels belying the Scottish origins of a track that could easily be mistaken for a contemporary American pop record.

The production, handled by Ryan Phillips and Theodore Pierce, is buffed and polished to perfection. The delicate synth tones complement Williams’ voice without being overbearing and the smatterings of acoustic guitar give NyQuil Dreams a very late-2010s atmosphere. The most interesting element comes at the very end; QOTSA-style distorted guitars are an unexpected and welcome addition to an otherwise very safe composition. Hopefully anachronistic choices like that will be indicative of the singles to follow.

NyQuil Dreams will be released digitally in all the usual places on the 18th of September 2020.