After more than a decade in New York City, Anthony D’Amato headed west for his new album, At First There Was Nothing (due out October 21st), relocating to American Fork, Utah, for recording sessions in the autumn and winter with acclaimed songwriter and producer Joshua James. Bristling with joyful energy and piercing insight, the record marks D’Amato’s first first full-length release in six years, and the growth is palpable, with sprawling, unpredictable arrangements accompanying some of his most gripping and incisive lyrical work yet. Drawing on everything from hazy ’60s soul to rootsy ’70s rock and roll, the songs are loose and playful here, even as they grapple with faith and trust, mortality and loss, resilience and regret, all set against sweeping sonic backdrops every bit as epic and rugged as the landscapes that inspired them.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the lyric video for the standout track “Kinda Strange.” D’Amato comes out swinging with fuzzy rock and roll guitar that serves as a proper build-up to the biting lyrics about racial injustice. Though the song feels like a Black Keys tune out of the gate, D’Amato throws some curve balls by incorporating elements of soul and a subtle but enchanting dance of horns to wash over the listener. The poignant lyrics offer a unique contrast with the anthemic 70s rock sound at play.
“I wrote this after the police killing of an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop. The fact that that information doesn’t really narrow things down is precisely the point. America is a country that seems to have fully resigned itself to watching the same preventable tragedies happen over and over again. Even though the names and the locations might be different, nothing really seems to change, and I think it’s worth all of us looking in the mirror and asking why that is. ‘Don’t you think it’s kinda strange how nothing seems to change around here?” – Anthony D’Amato
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