Oscar Rendon | St. Louis, MO | September 20th, 2019

ABOUT AMY COHEN| The 23 year-old rising R&B/pop artist, Amy Cohen, has always looked to music to make sense of herself and the world. Open lyrics and a compelling voice form only the foundation of all that is the warm, magnetic singer-songwriter. Amy’s music is a direct reflection of herself - Sincere, Radiant, and Captivating. She finds songwriting to be the most important part of music - the more detailed the lyrics, the more meaningful to the listener. Although the intricate anecdotes may be her own, her willingness to be vulnerable gives the audience a chance to connect and a chance to feel. As she writes, a determined passion for telling her truth meets her thoughtful and gentle soul, and a poetic cadence carries her warm tones and breathy intonation. With a vibrant energy and unstoppable ambition, Amy took her passion to Los Angeles and is currently developing her debut body of work, titled “Direction”. “Direction” represents Amy’s navigation through a period of changes and challenges, relying on intuition and self-belief for guidance. A period of growth, reflection and love culminated in a beautiful body of work that will lay the foundation for her sound moving forward

EP Review

The start of the EP has a haunting first keys from the piano as “Second Nature” kicks it all off. Then comes Amy’s voice which cuts sharp and I had a little trouble trying to figure out who her voice reminded me of and then it hit me, Christina Aguilera! Not exactly but enough to catch my attention. The beat to the song is very simple but thats not bad, if anything it highlights Cohens voice. The echoes you can hear in the background mix give it almost a gospel/R&B tone which you don’t hear much from artists today which was a nice touch. “Direction” the title track of the EP again started off quiet and makes sense why it comes after “Second Nature”. The music is very atmospheric and it transports you to an open night sky, the song is visual and what I mean by that is I can see myself in any setting and this song fits what I see in my head. The lyrics are very personal but written so well they feel universal which most songs have to do nowadays. “Lose My Mind” is a slow burn up until the first chorus but it’s also the first song in the EP that has a lot of modern pop/EDM sensibilities which I was happy to hear as I was worried that the songs would feel repetitive in tone and sound. I also appreciate the length of the song which is the first of the shorter songs but it also forces the listener to hang on every word from the lyrics. “Oil And Water” changes it up as it’s the first up beat song musically. The lyrics are sadder and contradict the sound but the marriage of the two get me sing along to the chorus. The maturity of her voice is amazing with every song, with “On Your Side” she returns to the R&B tone and it’s one of the faster paced songs and it’s a perfect way to end an EP with a high note. I think the message or at least the theme of this EP is about bonds and loyalty to those bonds. In “Direction” you have someone uplifting Amy and in “On Your Side” she is doing the uplifting and encouraging which is what I consider to be balance and true love. As far as an EP goes this was one I can genuinely see myself listening over and over again and without a doubt I can confidently say Amy’s career trajectory is going one direction.. UP.