In her dreams, which were often of warfare, she'd be chased by evil men but never manage to die or be caught. She would search for a horse to ride, pick the fastest and strongest from the herd, and gallop through battlefields saving the innocent. Upon awakening she always felt there was something so real to these dreams, like they would come to pass, and the excitement caused a tingling sensation from head to private part. She felt so suddenly alive, like it was her mission in life to save people, places, and things.
Press:
"An elemental strum is a bare platform to build on, but with honesty and openness you can construct a mighty vessel. Amanda Jo Williams uses chords sparingly to make the humblest of roofs over her head, just enough to keep her voice and her personality warm, safe, and raw. When I listen I tilt my head slightly to the side and let my lips curl into a curious smile, I step into her humble abode and dust off the detritus of adulthood."
-Naturalismo
"Pure magic. Simple, mysterious, and other-worldly. Like a Sexton fairy-tale."
-Lach (Anti-folk founder)
"Listening to Amanda Jo Williams' rough-shod country-folk is like eating a squirrel stew supper before falling into bed, where you then lie awake and hear the haunted scrabbles of raccoons, coyotes and bears and wonder if you staggered out there, would you be eaten alive or inducted into some ritualistic animal society. Her primal music is an open maw to the mysteries and fears of the world. With a twang-heavy voice that sometimes breaks into manic gibberish or other cartoonish effects, she sounds like an unruly, sometimes lonely little girl left to her own devices."
-L.A. Times
"Amanda Jo Williams sounds entirely out of place and time. A musician born and raised in Hogansville, Georgia she has been likened to classic country stars such as Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris for her countrified drawl and raw, ragged musical approach. But it's her voice that really makes her stand out from the LA crowd she now finds herself playing before multiple nights of the week.
'The Bear Eats Me' despite comic titling possesses darker qualities; an Angela Carter style of storytelling that twists a tale of a girl and menagerie of animals into an almost creepy morphing of vocals and sinister piano interjections.
A cute and quirky album of lofi, homegrown and heartfelt sounds. As much as all this is a fun, breezy ride however we're pretty certain from the rave cult like status reviews she has been receiving Stateside; that Amanda Jo Williams' recordings are just the icing on the cake, a little take home gift. The heart and soul of her work is on the stage it seems."
-www.folkradio.co.uk
"This Georgia-bred former fashion model (who, though allegedly transient, seems to spend a lot of time in L.A.) sings and plays lovably clunky new/old country like the love child of Emmylou Harris and Jonathan Richman. [Ed.'s note: To us she sounds more like the love child of a lesbic menage à trois between Melanie Safka, Minnie Pearl and Jane Birkin, but what do we know?] She warbles like a flush-faced li'l kid going totally for broke as she bashes away at that poor old acoustic guitar. But Williams is chameleonic; dig a bit and you'll find a painful honesty in her dark, raw tales of life's woes and wonders. Onstage, she's prone to quirky chitchat and stretched-out instrumental jams, helped by a solid band that includes dancing sprite Feather on foot bells [L.A. Weekly Music lo-o-o-o-ves Feather!] and the great, versatile Alex Maslansky on guitar. "
- L.A. Weekly
"Watching Amanda Jo Williams live and joining the country tribal dance circle is pretty much a therapeutic experience. Her lyrics are infectious and so off the wall that your own crazy thoughts start to become sane. A must see! With band members named 5-Track and Feather, Amanda Jo Williams seems almost like a superhero, building our heart rates one song at a time!"
-L.A. Record
"One of the most interesting singers out there right now. She is unlike anything and worthy of being followed around and documented. Someone Alan Lomax might have fallen in love with, she does seem to come from another world."
-Greg Jamie from O'Death/ When You Awake
"On a mission to spread fire and music, Amanda's driven and infectious songs and honest way have entranced both communities of experimental folk musicians and audiences across Los Angeles. The hook is her vocal style, a cross of country cadence, melodic speaking and baby talk/mom talk that is instantly memorable."
-Citizen L.A.
"If Devendra Banhart is the prince of freak folk, Amanda Jo Williams is its patron saint."
-L.A. Weekly
"I was good, weird outlaw country music. If you took equal parts Loretta Lynn, Lucinda Williams, Hank Jr. and Hee Haw, threw them all together and wondered how they got that way you have a small idea what the show was like. There was a lot of love in the room last Friday night."
-Radio Free Silverlake
"Country girl Amanda Jo Williams strummed A-minor for fifteen minutes straight. Her band stomped rhythmically around her backwoods muppet ballideering."
-Paper Magazine
"Amanda Jo Williams traveled west from middle of nowhere, Georgia. She is that small town girl chasing untamable lovers. Her squeaky voice reaches as high as she is tall, with an accent that washes her in the purity of cartoons."
-L.A. Record
"Saw Amanda Jo Williams singin' and playing her kid's guitar. That girl has some balls. Went from singing 'How much is that Doggie in the Window?' to one that was, ahem, not for the kiddies ('The Sexy Love Song', which can be heard on her Myspace page). Country girl from outer space."
-Goldenlife
"The opening act was a singer songwriter named Amanda Jo Williams who sang simple, brutally honest songs about relationships, and 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash, in a voice that seemed to be channeling one of Sybil's 16 personalities (Peggy, I think it was. the little girl one). She also sang one of the most direct songs about fucking that I've ever heard, as if she were singing about washing dishes. Hilarious."
-Feed Your Head Today
"This is unequivocally the best country album I've heard in years. I get just as much pleasure out of it as I get from Emmy Lou Harris or Gram Parsons or (gasp) Johnny Cash."
-Coke Machine Glow
"The nice thing about Amanda Jo Williams is that she doesn't seem to give a damn about seeming ridiculous. She has a lack of self-consciousness rarely found this side of children's records."
- Shake Your Fist
"Amanda Jo Williams' combination of personalities and skills results in the most compelling roller coaster I've ridden in years—from the depths of a miniscule cracking whisper weaving tales of trauma, to the soaring heights of elongated elated instrumental breaks, Amanda Jo Williams will stop your heart, show you the light, then bring you right back again."
- L.A. Record
"Amanda is truly one of a kind with her distinctive take on cosmic cowboy music."
-When You Awake
"Adorably uplifting freak-folk musician Amanda Jo Williams teamed up with singer-songwriter Featherbeard to perform a duet of sorts as the king and queen of the ocean. Wearing a lobster outfit made of lace and orange-red plush, Williams' Joanna Newsom-on-helium vocals floated over her signature children's-guitar strumming while merman-clad Featherbeard's "Happenis Heer" drifted around like the scene's three fish-costumed dancers."
-Daily Trojan(review of Post Fact Production's play NEW)
"Amanda Jo Williams flies the freak folk flag; in fact it's more like freak americana/alt-country."
-songs:illinois
