Bill Mallonee is one of my favorite songwriters, even though (strange to say) I don’t own a single piece of his music. It’s not that I pirate it — it’s just that there’s a lot of material available on Archive.org. And even with that, I only have one concert. But still, he’s one of my faves.
That’s because Mallonee’s lyrics are so rich and emotionally devastating that you will always experience the songs a little differently each time. I’m sure I’ve clocked in over a thousand plays of my one bootleg recording.
Mallonee is a product of the ’90s Athens college rock scene, and his experience shows in Amber Waves, his fiftieth album.
But unlike most artists who fizzle out after four or five albums, Amber Waves is as fresh and forceful as Mallonee’s material for Vigilantes of Love. Sure, his voice is a little reedier with age, but otherwise, nothing’s changed. The same high and lonesome lyrics, the plaintive chord progressions.
I have no hope of catching up with the rest of Mallonee’s output — especially if he keeps putting a new EP out every four months (as has been the case.) But I imagine it’s more of the same: consistently hard-hitting rock and roll.
I’ll be very happy to add Amber Waves to my CD shelf. And maybe I’ll just work my way backwards through the other 49.