Anthony D’Amato is out to prove that there’s still a place in the world for earnest folk rock executed to perfection and without a hint of pretense. At least, that’s the impression one gets while listening to “Rain On A Strange Roof”, the lead single from his forthcoming album, Cold Snap. The song’s ambitious, amicable folk arrangement sounds like a hypercharged cross between Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen — dated reference points, maybe, but attractive ones nonetheless. Positioning himself within a long tradition of confessional American songwriters, D’Amato has a talent for making the familiar resonate with a heightened sense of meaning.
Then again, nothing in “Rain On A Strange Roof” seems familiar from a lyrical standpoint. “I’ve slept with strangers/ And I’d cross an ocean to do it again,” D’Amato begins, nailing that sweet spot between intimacy and loneliness. Later, he lies awake at night in another stranger’s home, listening to rain pattering against the roof. D’Amato’s percussive style of guitar playing lends a driving sense of immediacy to the track, but his real gift is his ability to evoke vague feelings with sharp images. It’s what fueled the best tracks on his 2014 breakout The Shipwreck from the Shore, and it doesn’t fail him here.
“I wrote this song about those terrifying moments that lead up to falling in love with someone,” D’Amato tells Consequence of Sound. “All the places your mind goes when you realize there’s no turning back and you’re about to step over that precipice. It’s exciting to get what you want in life, but it’s also frightening because you’re forced to abandon the fantasy of what you imagined it would be like and accept the actuality of what it is.”
Listen in to “Rain On A Strange Roof” via the lyric video below.
Produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit), Cold Snap is set to push his timeless folk sound in adventurous new directions. “A lot of the songs on this album have to do with the way we reconcile perception and reality,” explains D’Amato, adding that several of them will be rooted in distinctly modern anxieties. “I imagine that if Sisyphus were around today, rather than having to roll a stone up a hill for eternity, he’d be cursed to check his phone endlessly for a text that never comes.”
The 11 tracks on the record not only showcase D’Amato’s impeccable songwriting skills, but the depth of his friends list. Conor Oberst guest on the the song “I Don’t Know About You”, while members of Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Cursive appear throughout the LP.
Cold Snap is due out on June 17th via New West. Find the album art and tracklist below.
Cold Snap Album Art:
Cold Snap Tracklist:
01. Oh My Goodness
02. Rain On A Strange Roof
03. Golden Gloves
04. If You’re Gonna Build A Wall
05. I Don’t Know About You
06. Blue Blooded
07. A Kick In The Teeth
08. Cold Snap
09. Once
10. Ballad Of The Undecided
11. Honey That’s Not All
D’Amato is currently on tour with Sean Watkins and will return to the road this summer in support of Cold Snap. Find his full itinerary below.
Anthony D’Amato 2016 Tour Dates:
04/12 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill *
04/13 – Chesterfield, MO @ Break Room Concerts *
04/14 – Davenport, IA @ The Redstone Room *
04/15 – Madison, WI @ The Frequency *
04/16 – Marshfield, WI @ Vox Concert Series *
04/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota *
04/19 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery *
06/02 – Ithaca, NY @ The Dock ^
06/04 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
06/07 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Music Hall ^
06/09 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse ^
06/11 – Pawling, NY @ Daryl’s House ^
06/12 – South Orange, NJ @ SOPAC ^
06/15 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
06/16 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
06/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live-Upstairs
06/19 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java
06/21 – Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern
06/22 – Charlotte, NC @ Evening Muse
06/23 – Decatur, GA @ Eddie’s Attic
06/24 – Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter
07/01 – Cedar Falls, IA @ Cedar Valley Concerts
07/02 – Columbia, MO @ Still Concerts
07/05 – Indianapolis, IN @ The B-Side at One Lucky Guitar
07/06 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
07/09 – Greenfield, MA @ Green River Festival
* = w/ Sean Watkins
^ = w/ Valerie June
