Like many musicians worldwide, Naïm Amor was working on the tracks for a new album when Covid hit and sent the recording and live music worlds into hibernation. And also like many, when he emerged he did with a finished record ready to be released into a music-hungry world.
For Stories, his twelfth record since the mid 2000’s, the Parisian born and raised, long time Arizona resident Amor has crafted six instrumentals and three vocal numbers. While Stories may perhaps seem like an offbeat title for a record with several instrumental tracks, it’s also indicates what’s within; it’s raison d’etre is a cinematic approach to music making, one crafted to evoke images and feelings, unlock corners of known and unknown worlds, and yes, to tell stories; with or without the narrative of a human voice. Amor says “I called it Stories because, like a lot of what I do, the tracks have a film soundtrack quality. The album has a unity of tones, instrumentation, arrangements, while each song has a ‘stand alone potential.’ He also says “I want the listener to be traveling through their imagination, I hope they will feel moved by the melodies and the textures, and would get to the end of the album and feel a bit nostalgic that it’s the end, like a really good movie.” Virtually any of the tracks on Stories could, in fact, be soundtrack material.
The songs on Stories all reflect the sophistication and gift for expansive, memorable melodies that Amor has always brought to his work, whether it’s pop, jazz, lounge, as a solo singer/songwriter, rock & roll or even rockabilly. He says “This one incarnates my desire to play with a band in a more rock & roll format.” The opener, “Amorsonic,” glides by with a sweet/salty mix of guitars that are both clean and slightly dissonant. “Abusive Chaos” wraps snaky guitars around a jazz lounge groove; “Freeway Race” has the forward motion befitting its title; and “September Escapade” sounds like it should be played while driving a fast sports car down a winding road in Monaco. “Home” is meditative and lovely, “The Last Dance” drops smoldering guitars over a cocktail lounge groove, while “The Start Over,” and “Tucson Safari” rattle with more heavy guitars. The closer “Santa Rita Park West” sends the listener off on a gently rolling cloud, as the credits roll.
On Stories, Amor is joined by three long-time collaborators from his adopted city of Tucson, AZ: rhythm guitar and string player Ben Nisbet, bass player Thøger Lund and drummer Casey Hadland. It was recorded in one marathon session by the legendary producer/engineer/studio owner Jim Waters at his Waterworks Studio in Tucson. Waters also mixed the album, with some overdubs and string arrangements added on in Amor’s own studio. The sound is clean, warm and immediate, with a live in the studio feel, and lots of room for Amor’s outstanding guitar playing to shine on every track.
Naïm Amor Stories is available now everywhere.
