The brand new album Harlem Demos by Amy Madden has just been released!
This is a collection of original dark, urban, cinematic songs with signature ‘Madden’ lyrics, produced and orchestrated with musicality and restraint by Patrick Cowden in his studio in Harlem, and finished during the pandemic.
You can now find it on most streaming sites, buy it at ReverbNation, and get the CD ($20 includes mailing in the US) by mailing us at info@belpid.se.
1. BIRTHDAY SONG
It’s a crooked ring that wakes my telephone
(You find your way inside my door).
Everything is broken in this room we used to share;
All faith is gone, but you’re back for more
(You come back for more)
And all my life
One careful wish….and a carving knife
It was barely light when I heard them singing;
Wearing last night’s clothes I rode downtown
On the day that the rocket burned in Texas
I came for you but you were gone
And oh my life…
One careful wish… and a carving knife
All I need is a one-way out of here
All you need is a change of clothes
All we need is a little candlelight…
Two strangers scared of the evening,
Coming,
And a birthday song
2. BLACK BELLS
Put on your dress and your tears
Put on your makeup
There’s a picture of you in the mirror
I’m gonna show you where
Let it rain Let it watch
Let it snow Let it run
Let it cry Like a river in spring
Let it drop Let it dry
Let it lie Let it turn
Let it burn Let it stain
Let it swallow your name
Put on your veil and your tears
Put on your makeup
Raise a glass to the night and the years
I’m gonna take you there
My bed shakes like a leaf in a hurricane wind
The chandelier is swinging
I’ve got nothing to offer
And nothing to lose
Black bells are ringing for you Black bells are ringing
Put on your lace and your tears
Put on your makeup
There’s a long dark car on the corner
I’m gonna take you down
My hands are shaking like a leaf in a hurricane wind
Night birds are singing
I’ve got nothing to tell you
And nothing to fear
Black bells are ringing for me Black bells are ringing
(BREAK)
I’m a leaf in a hurricane wind
I’m a night bird singing
Nothing to offer and nothing to fear
Black bells are ringing…
Let it rain let it watch let it snow let it run let it cry
Like a river
Let it drop let it dry let it lie let it turn let it burn
let it stain let it swallow
3. I AM YOUR BLUES
You’ve got love on your skin
But I see where you’ve been
By the light of your ghost candle
And still you come back
To the shadow of me and you
Cause I am your blues
There are things I just can’t say
Like come to me baby
I’ve been walking these dark streets
inside your shoes
Cause I am your blues
You speak like a beggar
But I can still choose
The back door or the bedroom
A cigarette burns
On the sill there’s a picture of you
And I am your blues
And I’ve rolled the dice
I’ve rolled them twice
But I still believe
That bad things come in twos
You can lie to me – you still get nothing for nothing…
And I am your blues
You’ve got love on your skin
But I know where you’ve been
By the light of your ghost candle
I can read your mind
In the shadow of me and you
And I am your blues
4. STOPPING FOR NO ONE
Small town afternoon
Someone’s Daddy comin back too soon
A little too gone for a Tuesday night
And there she goes again
Tie score Back for more
little girls dream in a record store
Throw your caution out the door
There she goes again
Live Fast First in the Class
Smoke like a chimney Born to last
Hyper Speed Take the Lead
There she goes again
monkey in the yard Aces on a card
Boys in the back row going too far
Invisible Sky high
There she goes again
Mirror in the kichen Country wife
Long tall Sally Got a hunting knife
Carve your name In the pale moonlight
There she goes again
Your pockets full No bull
Last one home is a cryin’ fool
Send your brother back to school
There she goes again
Double Stride Seek and hide
Blink twice and you’ll miss the light
A little but wrong and a little bit tight
There she goes again
Forbidden planet in the sky
An old man’s dream in a baby’s eye
Sleep all day and drive all night
There she goes again
Stopping for no one
Nothing slows you down
Stopping for no one
Roadrun Handgun
Heartstun Band of One
5. SEVERIN ANGEL
You say you want another story
I can do better than that
Between my sorrow and your glory
Is a thing I’ll never ever get back
I saw you in a pile of moonlight
While I was looking for the scent of home
You had a letter in your pocket
The mark of a rolling stone
You can run you can run
You’re a man with a gun
I’m alone in a room with a shadow of you
I’ve been listening
Behind closed doors
Severin angel the choice is always yours
I found your broken-hearted message
Washed up from a distant shore
You were a prayer in a bottle
When I could sing no more
Wave that wand of magic
Change me into air
I leave you with a beggar’s promise
May it follow you everywhere
You can run you can run…
You’re a man with a gun
I’m alone in a room with the shadow of you.
I’ve been looking behind dark shades
Severin Angel the choice is yours to make
You say you want another story
I can do better than that
Between my sorrow and your glory
Is a thing I’ll never ever get back
You can run you can hide
You’re a man inside
I’ve been dreaming behind closed eyes
Severin Angel – an under-satisfied Saturday night
Alone in a room with the shadow of you….
6. RELENTLESS
This is the week I spent in someone else’s city
I came on a train — my ticket was a one-way off-peak fare.
This is the bed I slept or couldn’t sleep without you
In a hotel room on an unlit street
somewhere just south of Jupiter
Or am I boring you well you just have to say
It’s so much easier … and nothing’s easy…
This is the view from my hotel room in the rain
It’s not too clear– my camera lens was wet,
my hands were shaking
I can’t remember now which building was the first
to turn the light on..
It seemed important at the time.
Am I boring you well you just have to say
It makes it easier… and nothing’s easy
This is the film I watched for seven days inside my head
I knew every frame by heart but I won’t bore you with the lines.
This is the song that played for seven days inside my head
I’ll sing it if you’d like…it’s called Relentless
Relentless…
Relentless…
These are the walls that held me closer than you held me
For so many days I can’t remember quite the way you felt
And these are the window-eyes that watched me dry and
blamelessly
As I paced out your name a thousand times
across this creaking floor
Passing cars the only sound besides the endless rain
Relentless,,,
Relentless…
This is the song I sang for seven days inside my head
I’ll sing it if you’d like.. it’s called Relentless
7. YOU JUST HAVE TO…
You don’t have to testify in any kind of courtroom
You don’t have to memorize the truth
You don’t have to reach inside any of your pockets
You don’t have to swear on any Bible that you do.
You just have to …
You don’t have to cover up your handwritten letters
You don’t have to hide the stains on your white shirt
You don’t have to pledge allegiance to any one that knows me
You don’t have to show me anything that makes it worse.
You just have to….
You don’t have to tell me where you’ve been sleeping
You don’t have to lie or change the sheets or make the bed
And you don’t have to talk over anything that matters
You don’t have to apologize or tell me what she said.
You just have to (love me)
You don’t have to drive through any rainy nights in winter
You don’t even have to open up your mail
You don’t have to recognize my song on your radio
You don’t have to look when I decide to walk away
You just have to (love me)
8. SECOND COMING
Well there’s 1000 miles from here to Nashville
And there’s __ more nights ‘til this month is through
Make me an angel and I’ll sell my soul
Make me a stiff one and I’ll drink to you
(This one’s for you)
That was no mirage in the crumpled bedsheets
And it wasn’t a dream you walked into
I never saw an angel that I didn’t like
But I’ve learned by now not to answer for you
(I’ll never answer for you)
And it seems to me I’m walking backwards
It seems to me you’re getting tired of this
And the rain comes down like a stage direction
And like a second coming….
I’m still waiting for you…
Well that was somebody else you looked inside of
I’m slowing down but I’m still quicker than you
I was twice shy but I’m counting backwards now
And I’ve learned not to count on you
(I’ll never count on you)
But it seems to me I’m walking backwards
It seems to me you’re getting tired of this,,,,
So turn back those tired bedsheets
And throw away your pointed shoes
Picture this, the morning after…
The camera won’t lie like you
(And I’ll never lie like you do)
But it seems to me we’re walking backwards
It seems to me I’m getting tired of this
And the rain comes down like a stage direction
And like a second coming…
I’m still waiting for you
For you…
I’m still waiting for you…
About Amy Madden:
Amy Madden is a songwriter and bassist who began as a 1980’s regular at CBGBs and other New York venues. A writing member of the New York bands The Shivers, The Gift, Electric Skin, Cruel 13, the Theoretical She’s and Friction, she recorded and toured in the mid-1980’s with Seattle-born rocker and Geffen artist Adam Bomb, sharing the stage with members of Poison, The Cult, Motley Crue and The Rolling Stones. Appearing at several high-profile shows with John Lee Hooker in the mid 1980’s, she connected with other blues artists – Michael Powers and the late John Campbell, among them, whom she backed with an all-star New York band.
Moving to London to pursue a solo career, she achieved creative recognition and significant airplay for her EP ‘Minor Disturbances’, recorded with Jon Gordon (Suzanne Vega, Madonna) and originally released by One Big Guitar records and distributed by Rough Trade. It drew rave reviews from Melody Maker, Billboard and the NME. The single ‘Hotel Ruin’ featured the accordion of Charlie Giordano (of Springsteen’s E-Street Band).
A digital version of the U.K. 1989 vinyl release, ‘Hotel Ruin and other (vintage) Minor Disturbances and B-sides’ was released in 2013 by Belpid. Included were live recordings from her earliest performances, some dark poetic 8-track home demos, and a rare Jamaican radio dub-mix of one of her first compositions. 13 all-original tracks, featuring the stellar guitar of Jon Gordon, Jon Paris, Freddie Katz, Joe Pisciotta and others.
Back in New York since the 1990’s, she has appeared regularly with blues artist Jon Paris and drummer Steve Holley for more than 20 years, opening for George Thorogood and Johnny Winter on tour, and as a band, supporting artists from Phoebe Snow to Johnny Copeland. She appears on all 3 Paris cds, as well as several film soundtracks. More recently she participated in Rhys Chatham’s The Crimson Grail and performed and recorded live at Lincoln Center. She also played with rocker/songwriter Alan Merrill, Swedish guitarist Clas Yngstrom, and contributed bass and vocals on albums by fellow Belpid bands Stellan Wahlström Drift Band, Un Rodo Cora and Latvian Radio. In 2012, Amy was inducted into the NYC Blues Hall of Fame, acknowledging her work with John Lee Hooker, Paul Butterfield, Bill Dicey, and many other local and international artists.
In July 2012 she completed a project of all-original music written for an indie film soundtrack with guest appearances from Holley, Paris, Jon Gordon, former King Crimson composer and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, jazz violinist/cellist Rob Thomas, and saxophonist Danny Walsh. Titled ‘Discarded Angels’, the result was a 14 song concept-collection of original, melodic, under-produced but masterful music which straddled the categories of indie, blues, singer-songwriter, melodic and adult-alternative rock (see more info below).
As a writer/poet, she maintains a website of essays (www.writerless.blogspot.com) and has also published a novel ‘Losing My Accent’, which is available for download on Amazon/Kindle. ‘Light sings of wear’ was released in 2023 and is Amy’s third poetry collection in four years for Belpid Books. It introduced a denser more mature voice while still maintaining that characteristic intimacy with the audience. Her inherent musicality, the deft interchange of pronouns and palpable city aura are hypnotic. As both the reader and the “read” one finds these poems not just penetrating but addicting. You find yourself steeped in a literary landscape that has been described as “deeply familiar”.
And now the new album Harlem Demos has been released!
More about the ‘Discarded Angels’ project
This began as a raw soundtrack for an indie horror film; the director was enchanted with the music and gave Amy license to take it further. With the engineering skill of Jon Gordon, he invited longtime bandmates Jon Paris (harmonica), and Steve Holley (drums) to add their musical signature. Rob Thomas of Mahavishnu and Jazz Passengers fame came in to play cello, and longtime great friend Ian McDonald– the legendary musician/composer/founding member of King Crimson, Foreigner, and many other projects, added his musical grace. Danny Walsh (tenor sax), Jon Gordon (mandolin and electric slide on 2), Bill Christopherson (violin on 8 ) came in as well, to finish the long, dark musical journey. The result is a concept-collection of original, melodic, under-produced but masterful music which straddles the categories of indie, blues, singer-songwriter, melodic and adult-alternative rock. There are references to 60’s, 80’s and classical roots, but also something unique and edgy. Her musical experience is deep, and the songs are passionate and moving.
Amy, a poet and writer as well as seasoned New York bassist, is known for penetrating lyrics, and this album will not disappoint. Patricia Morrison of the Gun Club once described her previous release in the NME as ‘an eerie, sexually satiated female vocal telling a tale of love, tranquility and bricks falling on top of your head to a veritable time bomb of a backbeat. All very strange and rather groovy. ” It was also described by another NME reviewer as ‘the perfect soundtrack for a big hit American movie.”
“Discarded Angels” demonstrates a more mature, slightly more stripped-down approach to the same genre of melodic dark pop. Vocal performances are live and close; and Madden provided guitar tracks as well as electric and double bass. The blues influence is more apparent, and the lyrics are deeper and more developed. Musically the project takes more risks; repeat listenings reveal a complex web beneath the surface.
This is a concept album, and although tracks like “The Red and the Blue’, ‘Most of These Things’ and ‘Kathy’ all stand on their own, the project as a whole has a certain integrity and message. With or without visuals, the effect is darkly cinematic and the vision is personal and compelling. It definitely is a harbinger of things to come. Her song catalogue is vast and growing, and her material has been praised and covered by bands in New York, the UK and Sweden.
