Singer-songwriter Amy O’s album Shell arrives next month, but for now, we are satiated with the emotional summer eulogy “Rest Stop.”
Whenever Amy O unveils a new track that hums with her signature twinkly bedroom pop sound, it’s like all the clouds have cleared from the sky and the sunlight is bathing your town in a warm embrace. Her junior effort, Shell, is due out next month, and her enchanting second single “Rest Stop,” which follows last month’s bouncy “Planet Blue,” is heightening the anticipation.
On the lullaby-like “Rest Stop,” Amy’s vocals are as silky as ever, stretching words, adding syllables, and making every letter feel as smooth as water. That unhurried and gentle approach is one of the most powerful tools she has. Written after she and her husband moved into a new home and she abandoned her job of five years, she says the song is about “when something changes and you’re halfway between the old and the new. I was tired and overwhelmed—but also in love and grateful.” You can almost see her swaying lightly to the slow tempo, a whirlwind of peace swaying around her.
Amy O is bringing her sparkly serenades to Trans-Pecos on November 6.