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AMY X NEUBURG: The Secret Language of Subways

San Francisco Chronicle:
"Neuburg's new song cycle teeters beguilingly on the boundary between pop and avant-garde performance art, and to hear it complete and in sequence is to marvel at the grace and elegance with which Neuburg walks that tightrope."

Stereophile:
" 'Record to Die For' - If there is a talent to watch in the modern classical world, it is Amy X Neuburg... a truly original composer... buy it and put some amazement back in your life."

Audiophile Audition:
"Like Laurie Anderson joining up with Philip Glass or Annie Sofie Von Otter collaborating with Steve Reich... The thirteen tracks teeter and admirably balance between avantgarde, performance art, pop sensibilities and contemporary classical."

Amy X Neuburg describes The Secret Language of Subways as “a song cycle about the inane and perpetually unfinished businesses of love and war — and New York.” A stylistically versatile, classically trained singer/composer with a four-octave range, Amy is best known for  performances with voice, electronic drums, and live looping in which she creates a chorus of layered voices and rhythms. Two years in the making, Subways consists of intricately composed, multiple layers of cellos topped by Amy’s distinctive and striking vocals; the songs range from intimate art-song ballads to electronics-based pop to Dadaist meanderings to lush symphonic arrangements. Sometimes the cellos are processed with electronic effects, other times heard in the expressive richness of their natural timbres. Neuburg explains:

"I conceived most of these songs while sitting on the subway during a 3-year period when I lived part-time in New York — inspired by the rhythmic lull of the train, the fragmented meanderings of my thoughts, the dramas of recent world and personal events, and the deluge of sensory input that is New York itself. New York at that time presented such a vivid example of how life, love and art continue to move forward with full force, in spite of (or perhaps encouraged by) the fears and uncertainties of war."

The thirteen songs here form a compelling dramatic arc, drawing the listener into a vivid, subterranean emotional journey.  Starting from the hushed a cappella opening of “One Lie,” the CD makes local stops at urban paranoia (“Closing Doors,” “Body Parts”), nocturnal reveries (the haunting-yet-catchy “Someone Else’s Sleep”), the surreal juxtapositions of street life (“The Gooseneck,” “Difficult”), self-preservation through self-presentation (the lilting, folkish “Hey”), and Amy’s stunning closer, the resigned, chorale-like “Shrapnel.”

As an encore, Neuburg offers her ingenious arrangement of “Back in NYC” from Genesis’s groundbreaking 1974 concept album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Throughout, the bold  sophistication of Amy’s writing and her sure command of songcraft make The Secret Language of Subways a fascinating ride.

In addition to Neuburg performing vocals, electronics, and drums, the performers include The Cello Chixtet (Jessica Ivry, Elaine Kreston, and Elizabeth Vandervennet).
    
Amy X Neuburg has developed a unique career bridging the boundaries between classical, experimental and popular music. Her “avant-cabaret” songs combine her interests in language, expressive use of music technology, and exploration of multiple genres using the many colors of her wide vocal range.  She has performed at the Bang on a Can Marathon, Other Minds, and other festivals, universities, rock clubs, and concert halls throughout the U.S. and abroad.  Commissions include works for Present Music, Santa Cruz New Music Works, Solstice, and others. As vocalist, Amy has been featured in contemporary operas and recordings including works by Robert Ashley, Culture Clash and Guillermo Galindo.

Visit Amy X Neuburg's website.

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One Lie
Closing Doors
Difficult

Tongues
Someone Else's Sleep
The Gooseneck
This Loud
Be Careful
Body Parts
Dada Exhibit
Hey
Shrapnel
Back in NYC
 

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