Drummer Amy Aileen Wood has performed with an incredible roster of artists, including Fiona Apple, St. Vincent, Iggy Pop, and Jenny Lewis. She’s also a percussionist, producer, and engineer and last Friday, she released her first solo record The Heartening. Wood has already released three of the ten tracks as singles and they offer a tantalizing taste of the upcoming project.
As Brooklyn Vegan reports, Wood is going solo but maintaining a communal spirit as she reunites with her former collaborators. Apple herself is featured on both “Rolling Stops” and “Time for Everything.” Both of her contributions are wordless but remind listeners of Apple’s ability to express a vast variety of emotions through her wide-ranging powerhouse vocals. “Rolling Stops” begins with a beautiful mixture of vocals, saxophone, and keyboards until the mood dramatically shifts; Apple’s voice screams with a wild abandon and the sax turns unsettling. Meanwhile, Apple barely sings on “Time for Everything” — instead she giggles with euphoric pleasure. Peaceful synths and an off-kilter drum machine reminiscent of old-school hip hop float by under her voice, until distorted guitar appears at the track’s end. Then there’s “Number Zero,” a spacey, soothing sonic landscape of jazzy experimentation featuring free-flowing saxophone weaving around gorgeous synths and more 80s-style drum machine sounds.
Wood has a long history with Apple, beginning in 2012 when she joined the iconic artist’s touring band. She also co-produced and engineered Apple’s 2020 record Fetch the Bolt Cutters, in addition to recording drums. The Heartening, which will be released by Colorfield Records, also features bassist Sebastian Steinberg and multi-instrumentalist John Would — both of whom are also “Bolt Cutters bretheren” as her Bandcamp puts it. Listen to the record below.