Album: Silver Landings
Artist: Mandy Moore
Genre: Pop
Record label(s): Verve Forecast
Recommended Tracks: Track 1- I’d Rather Lose Track 3- Fifteen
Mandy Moore, born Amanda Leigh Moore, is an American singer, actress, and songwriter from New Hampshire. She first began to star in many local productions and performances at a young age. At the age of 13, Moore began to work on her music by herself. She was overheard by a FedEx delivery man who sent a copy of Moore’s unfinished demo to his friend who worked in A&R at Epic Records. Moore signed with Epic. Moore began to work on her debut album at the age of 14 and she even toured with the boy band, NSYNC. She debuted her single, “Candy”, on August 17, 1999. She then released her debut album, So Real, on December 7th, 1999. Moore released six more albums from then, including her most recent one, Silver Landings, on March 6th, 2020. This new album deals with themes of warmth and security after her separation. The instrumentals in this album give out a warm sound. I would rate this album a 5 out of 5 because of her lyrics and the traditional use of music and the sound the album has.
The first track in the album is “I’d Rather Lose”. This song has a following a moral compass. The song starts off with an acoustic guitar and drums being played to a steady paste. When the vocals come in with soothing background vocals. The guitar and drums stay the same for pretty much the entirety of the track, but when it comes to the electric guitar solo after the bridge of the song. This solo was amazing and it felt so relaxing and the echoing electric guitar really made the song feel alive. Towards the end, the electric guitar is mixed in with the acoustic guitar and drums and they fade out towards the end.
The third track is “Fifteen”, and this track deals with Moore’s personal journey. Discussing how she felt when she was younger making music and how all her experiences, good and bad, made her the woman she is today, and she is fine with that. The song starts off with an electric guitar and a bass playing softly and slowly with an echo, making you feel relaxed and calm. The lyrics really highlight her own personal life and makes the song hers and about her life, which is a good thing. She demonstrates reflection in this song and it helps make this song feel warm. The solo before the bridge is also really calming. The solo’s drums make the song feel heavy and deep. The end of the song feels like a really retrospective thought and gets you thinking about your own life and decision. This track was an amazing and beautiful one.Silver Landings is meant to be filled with the feeling of warmth and security without minding the crashes. Moore shares her personal feelings in this album but also shows signs of hope with makes the album feel hopeful and warm. The instrumentals really tied the album together. It also made everything feel real and personal. By using guitars, the album felt warm and as if the songs are full of emotion. Moore comes back to music with this personal album and it really breaks away from her young teenage pop self. Overall, if you enjoy music that makes you feel warm, and feels like you are listening to the artist themselves, then I highly recommend listening to Mandy Moore’s new album, Silver Landings.
