Anthony D’Amato first got notice for his 2010 debut, Down Wires. Recorded in his bedroom with a single microphone, the record comes from a long tradition of simple, emotional folk music (this is the guy that wrote his graduate thesis on Bruce Springsteen, after all). Notice from NPR and Rolling Stone led to tours with Pete Yorn and Ben Kweller, and in 2012 he returned with Paper Back Bones. A full country band (featuring Amanda Shires and members drawn from Midlake and Kweller’s band) beefed up his spare songs, but not at the expense of his rich storytelling.
On September 2, D’Amato will release his third album, The Shipwreck From The Shore, and it continues his trajectory towards a fuller sound. He teamed up with members of Bon Iver and Megafaun (a common pairing for the song of the day these days) and headed up to an 18th-century farmhouse studio in Maine. There he moved slightly away from his country/folk roots and took inspiration from his new band. Songs like “Good And Ready” resulted, matching sweetness with a big backbeat.
